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Hope Above Fear Pensacola non-profit fights teen fentanyl addiction

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Hope Above Fear Pensacola non-profit fights teen fentanyl addiction

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Stephanie Shepard was focused, composed and forceful as she spoke about Hope Above Fear, the Pensacola nonprofit she founded two years ago to raise awareness about the dangers of substance use and provide support and resources to affected youth for drugs and their families.

It’s only when you consider why Hope Above Fear was founded that the composure fades a bit and the sadness, ever-present, rises to the surface.

Shepard was asked, “Can you tell me what Isaiah was like before his addiction?” and looked down, thinking, struggling to find the words. How can you convey the pain of losing a child with simple words? you can’t

Shepard’s son, Isaiah Shepard, died on October 29, 2022, of a drug overdose. He was only 18 and the first-born and only child of Shepard, the older brother of sisters Layla, now 15, and Stella, 11. He died of an overdose of fentanyl combined with xylazine, a powerful tranquilizer used by veterinarians to sedate animals during surgery. and reduce pain.

Shortly after his death, Shepard founded Hope Above Fear.

“I didn’t know anything about any of these drugs and I had never heard of Narcan,” he said. “I really didn’t know much about this crisis that was facing the entire country and right here in our own county. I immediately said something had to happen. I knew we needed more education and awareness.”

Since its formation, Hope Above Fear has incorporated a board and has a team of volunteers. Part of the group’s mission is to “inspire and equip teenagers in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties with the tools, knowledge and resources needed to achieve a substance-free life. With a focus on positivity, optimism and resilience, we guide teenagers to choose a narrative of strength and self-discovery.”

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Earlier this year, Hope Above Fear received a $20,000 grant from Sunday’s Child to create a professional video showing the dangers and impact of drugs on young people and their families and friends, using real stories including Shepard’s own story. The video production, “Empower,” will have a free community viewing at 6 p.m. Oct. 27 at Pensacola Montessori School, 4100 Montessori Drive. And during Red Ribbon Week, the annual national project to combat drug use among young people, Hope Above Fear will bring the video to several area schools.

The group works with other similar advocacy groups in various drug awareness functions, including a fentanyl awareness rally from 11 am to 2 pm on Sunday, October 13, at the corner of Mobile Highway and Fairfield Drive . Other participating groups are Leona’s Legacy of Love, Offensive and Jamie’s Mom’s House, which are also organizations that work to combat drug use among youth in the community.

Hope Above Fear also has a “Choose Your Story” initiative, which takes young people on field trips to enjoy various aspects of Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, offering alternatives to drugs. Past outings have included Pensacola Ice Flyers hockey games, bowling, Splash City Adventures and more.

On Nov. 9, the Emerald Coast Disc Golf Club is hosting a charity tournament at Pensacola State College’s Milton campus with proceeds benefiting Hope Above Fear, which is also holding its Family Fun Day at the event. The tournament is from 8:00am to 10:00pm with the rest of the fun including disc golf lessons, bounce houses, face painting, food trucks, carnival games and live music following the disc golf event .

Florida Congresswoman Michelle Salzman is one of the sponsors of Family Fun Day.

“Hope Above Fear has been a true leader in empowering community members whose families suffer from the stigma of addiction,” she said. “Other parents have lost children to overdoses and she invites them all, and it’s by supporting others that they’ve really made an impact in Pensacola, because that kind of collaboration is the only way forward.”

So Shepard and his organization move forward, working with and empowering others to lessen the effect of drugs in the community.

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But what about this question? What was Isaiah like?

“That was amazing,” Shepard said quietly. “This (question) makes me angry.”

She paused a bit.

“He was caring and thoughtful and the kind of guy who made sure he never (went) without a Christmas or birthday present, and he did that from a young age,” Shepard said. “Kids don’t always do that. He was a playful older brother and he and his younger sister definitely had a way together, a certain connection. He played basketball for many years, and then he didn’t make the team in 8th grade . But he skated from second grade and that became his biggest hobby. He was an artist, a graffiti artist, but I learned to appreciate his work and see it as art, you know, once who got a good lesson from a police officer on how and where to do it.”

There was so much he could say about his only child.

“He was the kind of kid who helped his grandma,” Shepard said. “When the shingles fell off his roof, he went up there, he was only 15 years old, and he was helping fix them all. He started mowing the lawns for the neighbors when he was in the 5th grade and he wasn’t afraid . hard work.”

But it was in high school that Isaïes began to dabble in drugs, marijuana, including unregulated and so-called “legal marijuana” Delta-8 THC which differs from the Delta-9 THC found in the products of state-regulated marijuana now distributed at Florida Medical Marijuana Dispensaries.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that Delta-8 products can be harmful to users because of the chemicals used to synthesize them, which often change from manufacturer to manufacturer.

“There are a lot of similar reactions, hallucinations and psychosis,” Shepard said. “And that was something I was struggling with.”

Shepard, a single mother, tried to help her son. She got him counseling and worked with school and mental health professionals, but couldn’t get him into a treatment center because of his age.

“I was literally begging,” he said.

But by the time he turned 18, Isaiah was struggling badly.

He was arrested for sleeping in his car on private property, and eventually Stephanie took him to a treatment center in Tennessee.

“He did it 72 hours before he had a psychotic breakdown,” she said, adding that he was later sent to a “psych ward” that determined he was not psychotic enough to support himself.

He brought his only child home.

It was just weeks later that her son died after buying what he thought was cocaine, but was instead fentanyl laced with xylazine, Shepard said.

“I didn’t know anything about fentanyl,” Shepard said. “There was so much I didn’t know, but I knew something had to be done. I’m not one to sit idle. And as I learned more and more about the big problem in our community , it only made me more determined.”

She knows she is not alone.

“It’s hard to find someone who hasn’t been affected in some way,” Shepard said. “Whether they were struggling, whether it was a family member or a friend. That’s why it’s so vital that we talk about this as a community. Because it’s devastating families and young people have died.”

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