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We are moms who want to keep kids from losing their lives and futures to fentanyl. Many more of us are stepping up, as parents, and citizens of California, to advocate for drug addiction prevention and treatment.

THREE STEPS TO END DRUG DEATHS

  • Close Drug Markets

    California officials must take action now to shut down the open dealing of deadly drugs on sidewalks, in tents, and in social media through a combination of social services and law enforcement.

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  • Prevent and Treat Addiction

    We need a new approach to addiction—and we need it now. To solve the crisis of people living and dying on the streets, California must pivot from enabling addiction to prevention and recovery.

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  • Hand Ups—not Hand Outs

    Everyone should have a right to basic shelter and the opportunity to recover. California’s addiction and homeless system should promote a journey to independence.

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HEROINES FIGHTING HEROIN

(And Fentanyl, oxy, meth and any drug that endangers our kids.) We are are mothers of children who have been killed by fentanyl, at immediate risk of being killed by fentanyl, and who want to prevent more children from dying. But many more of us are stepping up, as parents, and citizens of California, to demand that we shut down the drug death markets, create psychiatry for all, and adopt a “Shelter First” policy for drug addicted homeless, so they can get the help they need.

  • My name is Jacqui Berlinn and I am trying to save my son, Corey, from death by fentanyl. I used to hide my story out of shame. But I realized a few years ago that remaining silent didn’t help my son or myself. Corey is one of over 100,000 unsheltered people in California. Many are suffering addiction to fentanyl and other hard drugs. Read more

  • Michelle Leopold lost her son Trevor to fentanyl poisoning when he was 18. Trevor began using marijuana and prescription drugs his freshman year of high school. He decided marijuana was his drug of choice and said it made him feel like he fit in, but he could be violent when he was coming down from highs. Read more

  • Cory Kremlacek’s son, Terry, has struggled with addiction for the past several years. He started suffering from depression in middle school and began using heroin in his late teenage years to cope. He did rehab when he was 19 and stayed clean for 8 years. Read more

  • Gina McDonald grew up in a household with an alcoholic father. While in high school, she experimented with alcohol and marijuana. When she turned 21, she unfortunately followed her father’s footsteps and started drinking heavily, eventually becoming addicted. Read more

  • Helen Schwartz’s son, Daniel, died from an overdose of heroin, meth, and fentanyl on May 27, 2021 at age 26. He had been using drugs on and off for six years while working as a cook. He lost his job during COVID. Eventually he wound up in jail in November 2020 because of his addiction. Read more

  • Janet Dyer has been unable to find her nephew, Chris, for 3 years. He is addicted to fentanyl and lives in the Tenderloin. The last time she saw him was in the San Francisco Chronicle where he was pictured being resuscitated from an overdose. Read more

  • Roberta Diaz lost her son Andrew on April 19, 2021 to fentanyl poisoning. She didn’t know her son was experimenting with hard drugs. He was training to be an assistant manager at Del Taco and was doing well at work. None of his colleagues suspected he was taking recreational drugs. Read more

  • Nancy Paravicini began her use of illicit drugs while employed by a hospital. Working the night shift, she stole sleeping pills to help her sleep. She did not become addicted, but she learned how to access drugs through her work. She was first exposed to opiates following surgery to remove her appendix. Read more

  • Alley Mills is an actor and Chair of the Drug Abuse and Mental Health Committee of the Venice Neighborhood Council. Read more

  • Ellen Grantz is a business developer with a restless passion for a better future and roll-up-the-sleeves urgency. Ellen currently serves as partner of a cloud-based boutique wine importer/distributor and is mother of two sons in SFUSD schools.

  • Beth Buchanan adopted two children who were the babies of mothers who had substance abuse. Both newborns entered this world addicted to hard drugs though medical professionals ensured they were not for long. Read more

It’s not just about saving our kids. It’s about saving our humanity.

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You don’t have to be a mother to oppose drug death markets. Mothers Against Drug Addiction and Deaths was cofounded by Jacqui Berlinn, whose homeless son Corey, addicted to fentanyl, is at imminent risk of dying; and by Gina McDonald, a recovering addict whose daughter Sam was drug addicted on the streets of San Francisco .

The two launched Mothers Against Drug Addiction and Deaths on August 16, 2021, in a protest against the open drug markets of Sacramento. Berlinn cofounded Stop Fentanyl Deaths and protested fentanyl dealing in San Francisco and Venice Beach in June and July 2021.

BRINGING OUR MESSAGE TO THE WORLD

 

We’ve had enough. As mothers of children killed by fentanyl and mothers of homeless addicts living on the streets of San Francisco and Los Angeles, we’re calling for leaders to close the deadly open-air drug markets that are killing children. 

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