NC survivors, families raise awareness on International Overdose Day

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Saturday marked International Overdose Awareness Day, and for survivors and family members in the Triangle, it was a chance to raise awareness of a growing problem.

Danette Ingram from Benson carries her daughter Dakota's memory everywhere she goes.

"She had such a bright smile that would just light up any room she came into and she had a beautiful future ahead of her," Ingram said.

A future cut short. What started with Xanax for anxiety at 19, turned into a heroin addiction.

"At age 22 someone gave her pure fentanyl without her knowing and she passed away," Ingram said.

For Ingram, the what-ifs never go away.

"I think I didn't know how to help her and I feel like I abandoned her in her time of need," she said.

It's why she fights to raise awareness. In the past two decades between 2000-2022, more than 36,000 North Carolinians have died from overdoses, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

Chandler Picot was almost one of them.

"It was a truly intense experience, it was traumatic, definitely, and it was eye-opening," Picot said. "Having a paramedic shine a light in your eye asking are you OK it's gonna be OK, buddy, it was a true wake-up call," he said.

Picot said that close call finally prompted him to go into recovery.

"I mean, I struggled since I was a young kid and it just continued on from there and it just snowballed, and I needed outside help and intervention," he said.

In addition to more outpatient and treatment centers, they also want to see more life-saving Narcan.

Richard Smith with Healing Transitions carries it everywhere and finds himself responding to more and more calls.

"Any given day, we can have anywhere from two to 10, and those are just the documented overdoses," Smith said.

Naloxone has been approved to be on hand in every Wake County school.

But above all, it's about helping families know that they're not alone.

"They're loved, they're worthy, and they do have people out there who care about them," Ingram said.