South Dakota families speak out on National Fentanyl Awareness Day

May 7th is National Fentanyl Awareness Day, and members of Emily’s Hope shared how the illegally manufactured drug has impacted them.

At a press conference Tuesday morning, the Orr family of Vermillion shared their story of losing their 15-year-old daughter to counterfeit pills containing fentanyl in December.

Members of Emily’s Hope also distributed free fentanyl testing strips and discussed the availability they have of Narcan (naloxone). The nonprofit organization also discussed the recently-launched Emily’s Hope Post Overdose Response Team (PORT), a new initiative providing follow-up care for overdose survivors.