ENON — A woman lost her son to an accidental drug overdose, and now she wants to become part of the solution.
That’s because every 7.5 minutes, one person dies from a drug overdose in the United States.
News Center 7’s Taylor Robertson was in Clark County and talked with the woman about Jakob’s Box.
Jakob Reid would have been 21 years old this year. His mother, Melissa Schuler, said that as a teen, her son became addicted to Opiates.
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Schuler said she took her son to several rehabs, but he couldn’t shake the addiction. At 18, Jakob died from an accidental overdose in the middle of the night.
“His heart was so soft, you know. I think he struggled, well, he struggled in life – period. Mental health and obviously substance use,” Schuler said.
She hopes that talking about what happened to her son and expanding life-saving resources will prevent other families from dealing with a loss like this, so she created a kit for people who are struggling.
Inside the lobby at Divine Intervention Recovery Center, you will find Jakob’s Box. There are Narcan and Fentanyl test strips inside the box. Schuler started this after Jakob died.
She believes her son did not know what exactly was inside the drug he was taking, and it cost him his life.
“At his funeral, it was like standing room only. And, I remember my daughter was giving her little eulogy, and I looked up in the room and thought, this is crazy. Like this kid who thought nobody loved him, and this room is packed,” Schuler said.
The Ohio Department of Health credits Narcan for the 23% drop in unintentional drug overdose deaths across the Buckeye state.
State leaders said it coincides with a 19 percent increase in the amount of Narcan that is made available in communities.
Faye Barron, co-owner of Divine Intervention, thinks Narcan should be something everyone carries.
“I just think you never know when you’re going to need it,” Barron said.
Jakob’s Box will be inside the lobby at Divine Intervention during office hours and then outside the front door after hours. Anyone can stop by and grab a kit.
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