According to the most recent data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 107,000 people died last year from a drug overdose. Various organizations from 24 states came together on Monday, August 15, to remember their loved ones and ask for a significant policy change.
One of those demanding change is Marlys McConnell. Her son Andrew was 27 years old when he tragically died from a drug overdose. She said her son was a chef in New York, and they called him the dancing chef. McConnell said people loved it when her son would dance around and whip some amazing stuff up.
Seven years after Andrew's death, McConnell is still working to keep her dead son's memory alive. McConnell said they are basically sitting here watching a broken system fail their children and loved ones for years, dying of substance-use-related death.
Trail of Truth partners with more than 70 organizations in 24 states
She is one of many Washington mothers working for the national organization Trail of Truth. Organizers of Trail of Truth said over a Zoom call on Monday that they want the government to take action, adding that they are frustrated by their lack of it.
Trail of Truth announced a partnership with more than 70 organizations from 24 states. All of them are asking for people with drug problems to have immediate access to treatment and nondiscriminatory medical care.
McConnell told King5 that she felt her son may be here today if these things were more readily available to him in the past. The Washington State Department of Health said there had been 489 drug and alcohol-related deaths in King County thus far this year. Fentanyl was ranked the number one killer as of 2021.
Kristie, who requested that her last name not be used in the interview, said that she sometimes feels hopeless. She added that she feels angry at times because there was never the help her son needed when he needed it.
Washington moms to head to D.C. to request a policy change
Kristie's story is similar to McConnell's, as her 37-year-old son Brandon died after using heroin laced with fentanyl in April. The mom said she had struggled since her son was a teen to find care that addressed Brandon's drug use and mental health.
Kristie added that the more voices there are, the more chance for the change to happen. She is one of the many mothers banding together to make a change in the United States. McConnell plans to go to Washington D.C. with Trail of Truth this coming September to request a policy change.
The moms plan to publicly honor the people who died from a drug overdose to reduce that stigma, according to media outlet WBNG.
