- We left from Rochester.

We're zooming on the highway back to Buffalo.

When we got back, everybody said she was pronounced dead.

They were waiting for the coroner.

Nobody could go inside the house.

(gentle music) (gentle music continues) I did not see her.

I didn't see her.

Even when they moved the body out, she was covered in a black bag.

(gentle music continues) So I did not get to see her.

I didn't say bye, no, nothing.

And... (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) - If it weren't for Narcan, my daughter wouldn't be here today.

Mom, at six months pregnant, was addicted to heroin.

She overdosed and died and was brought back with Narcan.

She was six months pregnant with my child.

My beautiful daughter, she was born healthy.

There were no complications to the pregnancy.

Mom went through a local treatment provider, was able to manage her substance use disorder.

So for me, this is a mission.

This is a purpose.

It's not a paycheck.

I would love to get rich doing this, but that's not what I'm here for.

I'm here to help people and assist them in their time of need.

My main important goal to provide information for families is to let them know that they need to be there and ready for them at that time.

Having the discussion that what they're doing by reaching out to us is the right thing to do, and providing those supports.

That's what we do.

It's just being there for individuals and loving them.

Basic human decency.

- I work with families in the community mostly before they get to any type of treatment program.

I work with families who are in the beginning stages and often families are, you know, seeing changes in their family members and they're not really making the connection yet, but they know that something's wrong.

They're starting to question whether substances are involved.

Even though you're afraid of what you hear, you're nervous about what you hear, you know that it may be the lifeline to saving somebody you care about.

The key is that you keep coming back.

(gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) - Jessica was a wonderful human being.

She's my sister-in-law.

Very funny, down to earth.

We were just like inseparable.

Would never assume, you could never assume something was wrong with her.

You really don't know what somebody's going through or what they're doing, if they keep it silent.

She went from super happy and little by little she'll say how sad she is.

She doesn't want to be here.

We would always comfort her and then we'll do something that's happy.

So nobody really thought about it.

- I've been doing this now for probably 12 years, and I navigated this path personally with my son and I lost my son in 2021.

Christopher had a genetic defect called neurofibromatosis, and he had two inoperable tumors in his brain.

He had seven brain surgeries between the ages of seven and 14.

And when he started to exhibit behavior changes, I thought it was that.

I was convinced that it had to do with that.

And I reached out to doctors and Chris was diagnosed with schizophrenic, bipolar, psychotic, borderline personality disorders.

Every diagnosis came with another drug and it was fueling an already growing addiction problem.

He struggled with his mental health.

Life was not easy for him, even when, to the rest of the world, everything looked beautiful.

He still struggled.

He wanted things in life that he felt were just out of reach for him.

And he relapsed and he didn't have a second chance after that.

You know, when I have those moments that, sorry, that I miss him, I remind myself how hard it was for him here and that he's at peace and my ultimate goal is to help other families so they never have to get to this point.

(gentle music continues) - The autopsy came back, they had the fentanyl in her body, so that's how we knew she had drugs.

And then there was detectives questioning everybody that was with her the night before.

You would imagine after someone passed, this family would get closer.

People were throwing blame that, who was hanging with Jessica?

Oh, you guys know she was doing drugs.

No, we did not know.

If the family didn't split, I think kids would be able to cope a little bit better with this.

They're saying, "Oh, nothing's been the same since Jessica passed.

Everybody's been so sad and mad," and I'm like, I bet.

I'm so sorry.

I have no family here in New York.

So when this happened and everybody split up, we were really alone.

It was a horrible time.

So the only people that came to help would be people that I just met.

Rashone Scott, her group.

- [Rashone] What gives me joy is saving lives.

- This lady is amazing because when I helped her deliver Narcan kits, the stores would tell me, "Do you know how many people we've saved using your guys' kits that you leave here?"

And I'm like, no, I really didn't.

- What I see is a lot of people who's scared, there's some people who don't know what to do when they can't access services when they need them.

We have people who are in active addiction and family members who love them, who want to stop.

- My kids are so great, they're always helping.

I don't know what I would do without them.

Just being smart about things.

You know, I have Rashone helping me talk to them.

We really just talk about how good of a person Jessica was.

- Every single one of us have a loved one who's been affected by this crisis.

Most recently, there's been several, several deaths impacting me.

My team, this is what we do every single day, and our loved ones are still dying, but it's going to affect you in some way or another.

We are all in this together.

- [Ashley] Eventually you will meet somebody, they will be your friend.

It's just going to randomly happen.

It's a beautiful thing, and I think nobody should take that for granted.

Friends could be just as close as your family.

And I think that is the thing I would like to take out of this whole thing that we have went through.

(gentle music continues) - There's not a day that goes by that I don't miss my son, but the one thing that we talked about in the beginning was, how do you feel about me talking about you and what you're going through in public?

And he said, "Mom, if it will help somebody else, go for it."

(gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) I am forever grateful for that journey that I had with him.

And I continue to do what I do now because I think that's important for other families to understand.

I think I just want to encourage individuals, families, people in recovery to pick up the phone and call someone for help.

Recovery is possible.

I see it every day.

You can't put your hands out in any given direction and not touch somebody who is touched by this horrific epidemic.

It doesn't define who your loved one is, not at all.

We just need to change the dialogue.

(gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues)