TAMPA, Fla. — International Overdose Awareness Day is the world’s largest annual campaign to end overdoses, remember without stigma those who have died and acknowledge the grief of the family and friends left behind, according to the official campaign website.
Since 2001, the day has been recognized by local entities as well as governments, by holding events to educate others and commemorate the lives lost to drug overdose.
"I thought I was getting my drug of choice," Chelle Sparrowhawk said, a former drug addict. "I was not, it was laced with fentanyl. I took the drugs, I overdosed. I was found by a friend, he narcan'ed me. And that's the only reason I'm here. I was very close to being gone."
Sparrowhawk began using heroin in 2013. She became addicted and overdosed multiple times.
Her most recent relapse was in February of 2022.
"My addiction really took me to the lowest of the low," she said.
If you ask Sparrowhead to describe herself now, 'addict' is nowhere on the top of the list. "I'd describe myself as an artist, I am a creator. I am a person in recovery. So many things," she said.
Through her own recovery journey, she's found a way to give back, which has, in turn, helped her trying times
"They need a safe space to come to get their life back in order to help them with all aspects," Sparrowhawk said of people getting their recovery journey started.
She opened Sacred Space Recovery in St. Petersburg in early 2021.
"[We're] a women's recovery and sober living house and we offer services to women recovering from drugs and alcohol."
Sparrowhawk spent time in a sober living home when she started her journey to get clean, and she credits the support she received with getting to her current point.
When she relapsed in September, it was the support system she created that was there to catch her when she slipped.
"What really helped save my life after I was getting back on track, was this place," Sparrowhawk said. "[It] was something I had built to help serve other women, it kept me alive."
Not only does Sacred Space Recovery help people through support, but they also help people through medicine too. The sober living home became an official Narcan Distributor through I Save FL. This legally enables the distribution of Narcan from the home to anyone in the St. Pete community.
Sparrowhawk said to date, they've handed out 500 boxes of Narcan.
"Out of those, we've had at least five confirmed reversals - meaning someone was overdosing in our community and that person was able to use the Narcan we provided on the person in need and reverse the overdose, saving their lives," she said. "I was one of those five."
Sparrowhawk said anytime she has an opportunity to share her story and educate others about addiction, she takes it.
Every 94 minutes a person is admitted into an emergency department in Tampa Bay for a nonfatal overdose, according to Live Tampa Bay. That's 108 people a week.
In Florida, there have been 17,627 opioid-involved non-fatal overdose emergency department visits in the first nine months of 2021. The Tampa Bay area accounts for 4,213 of those cases, according to Live Tampa Bay.
What is an overdose?
According to overdoseday.com, "an overdose means having more of a drug (or combination of drugs) than your body can cope with. There are a number of signs and symptoms that show someone has overdosed, and these differ with the type of drug used."
How are overdoses often treated?
"Naloxone (also known as Narcan) is the drug used by paramedics to revive people who have had an opioid overdose. Naloxone can cause withdrawal symptoms and a powerful urge to take more of the drug that led to the overdose. Anyone who has been revived using naloxone should understand the risks involved in taking more drugs afterwards," according to overdoseday.com.
If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, there are resources to help.
SAMHSA’s National Helpline, 1-800-662-HELP (4357) (also known as the Treatment Referral Routing Service), or TTY: 1-800-487-4889 is a confidential, free, 24-hour-a-day, 365-day-a-year, information service, in English and Spanish, for individuals and family members facing mental and/or substance use disorders. This service provides referrals to local treatment facilities, support groups and community-based organizations.
Also visit the online treatment locator, or send your zip code via text message: 435748 (HELP4U) to find help near you.