TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — In 2021, 446 people died due to an overdose in Pima County, with fentanyl playing a role in nearly half of those deaths.
The Pima County Board of Supervisors recently presented a proclamation to a local non-profit that will dedicate a day to honor loved ones and spread overdose awareness.
The Enlightening Hope Project is a mental health advocacy group that works to educate the community on mental health and addiction.
“He always gave to others and put them first. He wasn’t just his addiction or his mental illness. He was Jesus,” said CEO and Co-Founder of the Enlightening Hope Project Naomi Vega.
Naomi Vega lost her son Jesus Gutierrez after an overdose when he was just 29 years old.
“He was just so outgoing and out there and he just wanted to make you feel good. It’s just how he was,” said Gutierrez’s sister, Ali Rodriguez.
Vega and Rodriguez initially created the Enlightening Hope Project to help people who are also grieving.
Vega said eventually, it turned into more than that. The group helps those experiencing homelessness or dealing with a mental illness.
“We could’ve chose to do that rabbit hole and stay in that dark place,” said Vega. “But if you get into the light, you’re an enlightening hope, so that’s why it’s called the Enlightening Hope Project, because recovery is possible.”
The group explained their goals are long-term.
“Acknowledge those that were lost that they are human and that their lives mattered. It’s not a short-term goal because my son isn’t a short-term person,” Vega said.
Last year, there were more than 100,000 drug overdose deaths in the America, which is almost a 30% increase from 2020, according to the CDC.
“We tried to come up with a way where we could honor other parents and other family members and let them know, 'Hey you have a voice.' So, let’s do a call to action and have the city understand that it’s not just me, there’s a lot of people,” Vega said.
With the county having proclaimed Wednesday, Aug. 31 as International Overdose Awareness Day, Vega and her family hope it’ll bring families together to remember their loved one not for their overdose, but for who they were.
“August 31 is for families to have some dignity and to be able to talk about their loved one as a person, not the overdose, but the person. Tell me about your son, what do you want us to remember? Tell us about your daughter, tell us about your father,” Vega said.
On Sunday, Aug. 28, the group will hold a memory tree lighting ceremony to accommodate for more people’s schedules.
RELATED: DEA working to curb fentanyl availability as overdose deaths rise
——-
Faith Abercrombie is a reporter for KGUN 9. Before coming to KGUN, Faith worked as a videographer for the Phoenix Children's Hospital Foundation and as a reporter and producer on the youth suicide documentary, "Life is..." on Arizona PBS.
Share your story ideas with Faith by emailing faith.abercrombie@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, or Twitter.
