Stories

Every number had a name.

Behind every overdose statistic is a son, a daughter, a friend. These are their stories, told by the families who loved them and the people who made it through, and the work they started so it doesn't happen to anyone else.

Darren

Son of Shelia Bostic · Richmond County, North Carolina

February 25, 2022DarrensVoice begins

Darren died on February 25, 2022. He wasn't in active addiction. At the time there were no warnings about fentanyl, no one knew what was happening, and every death was just labeled an overdose.

When the autopsy came back, his family learned that Richmond County had the highest fentanyl death rate in North Carolina, and had since 2019. There had been no warnings at all.

Shelia believes that if there had been awareness, and Narcan, at that time, then just maybe Darren would still be here.

“I said that his death would not be for nothing. I had to warn people.”
Shelia Bostic, Darren's mother

What happened next

Shelia picked up a bullhorn and stood on Highway 74, warning people about fentanyl and handing out Narcan.
She learned most of the deaths were in one community, East Rockingham, and took the work there, hand in hand with the people who live there.
Richmond County was number one in North Carolina for fentanyl deaths from 2019. Today, she says, it isn't even in the top 10.

Get free Narcan, Deterra & NarcXDarrensVoice · Richmond County, NC

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