From left are Dina Villavicencio, Stephanie Boatright and Lisa Machado, mothers who lost their children to fentanyl poisoning, raising awareness through their nonprofit organizations at the third annual Fighting Fentanyl event June 14 in West Sacramento.

WEST SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) - During the third annual Fighting Fentanyl event on June 14 to spread awareness about fentanyl poisoning, more than 100 attendees enjoyed food, performances, hot rods and community resources at the Victory Outreach Church parking lot in West Sacramento. 

Event organizer Ricky Brazil said he organized this event to create a community for those who have lost loved ones to fentanyl, prevent fentanyl poisoning and advocate for justice against the ongoing epidemic.

Many posters displaying photos of victims poisoned by fentanyl were lined up toward the center of the event space and at least 14 vendors lined the perimeter, ranging from the West Sacramento Police Department and Dignity Health to Thick Vatos and Tacos and Chilly Willy’s Ice Cream. 

Pam Hardy of Phardy Healthcare Mentoring Boot Camp stands with her son (left) at the Fighting Fentanyl event in West Sacramento at Victory Outreach Church in West Sacramento on June 14. 

Victory Outreach Church’s motorcycle ministry club, Riders Out of Darkness, with several members in attendance and club President Lenny KeAloha said the main purpose of their motorcycle ministry is emphasizing the importance of the human soul. KeAloha said families who are hurting need hope and a light at the end of the tunnel. 

“I think coming out here and showing support, you’ve got other ministries that are coming together,” KeAloha said. “There’s one body. One God. You know? So, it brings joy in my heart to see that because we’re moving it for the kingdom of God. Not for self.”

Sunny Moreno, a regional president for the Sacramento and Bay Area regions for the Riders Out of Darkness for more than six years, said the biggest impact about events such as Fighting Fentanyl for him is helping people because he was addicted to drugs, going in and out of prison, and affiliated with a gang.

“You see all the pictures here; they’re all youth and all they’re doing is taking the wrong path,” Moreno said.

Many posters display photos and information about loved ones who suffered from fentanyl poisoning at Victory Outreach Church during the Fighting Fentanyl event in West Sacramento on June 14. 

The greatest accomplishment for him after gaining his sobriety and attending awareness events, Moreno said, is being able to reach young folks who feel they can’t leave a life of drugs and gangs.

“Life is hard but there’s always a different route that we could take,” Moreno said.

Riders Out of Darkness South Sacramento President Jacob Caton said he “wasn’t looking for God but God was looking” for him. Caton joined Victory Outreach Church in 2015 after being a prison gang member and being incarcerated for 20 years.

“God is searching and looking for you when you don’t even know it. And at that time in my life, I really needed this and it really changed my life from where I am today,” Caton said. 

Caton said he attends awareness events because he is a resident and the drug epidemic is killing people in the Sacramento region or leading to incarceration.

“I feel like if I came from that background, from being a drug addict myself, that me, coming out to these events, if I could just reach one person out of 100, I did my job,” Caton said. 

John Mason III (JM3), a rapper from Pittsburg, performs one of his songs at Fighting Fentanyl with children dancing along in West Sacramento on June 14 at Victory Outreach Church. 

Multiple speakers at the event included West Sacramento Mayor Martha Guerrero, Police Chief Robert Strange and Yolo County Deputy District Attorney Preston Schaub. 

About two-dozen custom classic cars lined up in the parking lot and Joe Brazil, the brother of event organizer Brazil and the Specialty Automotive owner, brought his classic hot rod representing the Whisker Biscuits, his car club. 

Elijah Johnson, a Victory Outreach Church event coordinator, said musical artists from across the state performed throughout the event, while also featuring Joel Trujillo from San Antonio, Texas’ Victory Outreach Church. 

Representing Stop Drug Homicide, a nonprofit organization raising awareness about the criminality of drug-related deaths, was Mareka Cole, whose son, Marek, died of fentanyl poisoning.

Attendees gather around hot rods, resource tents and Victory Outreach Church in West Sacramento during the Fighting Fentanyl event on June 14. 

Cole said she spoke to many people who knew very little about fentanyl or how to administer Narcan and that is why she holds demonstrations at awareness events. 

“What attracts them to the booth is the number of people that we’re losing in California,” Cole said. “Even the little kids look at these signs. They don’t understand it all, but they see it.” 

Cole said that Stop Drug Homicide helps pass laws and advocates to assembly members for comprehensive solutions to drug-related deaths. She is currently working on the CARE Act to prevent incarceration of individuals with mental health issues, so they can be properly rehabilitated and cared for. 

“My son was autistic, so I know about mental health. And what’s needed for these people is not incarceration,” Cole said. “They’re misunderstood.”

Counseling supervisor Lori Durbin stands at her CORE Medical clinic booth during the Fighting Fentanyl event in West Sacramento on June 14 at Victory Outreach Church.

Izaya Michael Foundation Founder Stephanie Boatright, a mother who also lost her child to fentanyl poisoning, was at the June 14 event.

Boatright said she “cannot stay quiet and must try to help the next generation of children” because she lost her son and sees death toll numbers in the hundreds every day within the United States.

“For me, it’s what I do with my loss,” Boatright said. “Yeah, I’m heartbroken, but at the same time, what can we do to make this world a little bit of a better place because we are literally in spiritual warfare out here.”

Boatright said everyone on the street is someone's relative and someone’s loved one who is struggling. She said people just can’t walk past them as if they don’t mean anything. 

The nonprofit Fentanyl Awareness Coalition of Tuolumne County and Surrounding Areas (FACTS), represented by Lisa Machado and Dina Villavincencio, who both lost their children on the same day in April 2023 to fentanyl poisoning, supported other parents and organizations fighting the fentanyl epidemic.

Able Calderon (right) stands with his boxing family at their booth for Sac’s Finest Boxing during the Fighting Fentanyl event at Victory Outreach Church in West Sacramento on June 14.

If her daughter had access to Narcan, Machado said, the common name for naloxone medication to reverse opioid overdoses, she could still be alive today. Machado said that a drug might not always be what it's believed to be and shared a story of when she had to administer Narcan to a man who overdosed while Machado was pumping gas. 

The individual was slumped over the passenger's side of his dashboard, Machado said, and a young girl was calling out for help. Machado said she was carrying Narcan in her car and administered four doses before the man started to respond but he then became combative and took swings at Machado. 

“I tell people, ‘Give it to them and get back because it puts them in withdrawals and you don’t know what they’re going to do,’” Machado said. 

Machado said Narcan doesn’t fully reverse the effects of an overdose, but it does act as a buffer to keep them breathing until the first responders arrive if they are unresponsive. 

Lori Durbin, a CORE Medical Clinic counseling supervisor, had a booth at the event and said she has seen more drug-related deaths because of the expanded applications of fentanyl within a multitude of different drugs. She said everyone's priorities are different and getting personalized treatment is more effective than a system of penalties for their situation. 

Attendees shake hands and greet each other at the Fighting Fentanyl event in West Sacramento at Victory Outreach Church in West Sacramento on June 14. 

Brazil, Cole and Durbin were also event speakers.

Durbin said she was previously an addict and had also been incarcerated, but her life was saved because of treatment. Durbin said she has been clean for 15 years and “got blessed” with a grant to attend school. Durbin said her experience and her story “help build trust with a community that feels they have none left to give.” 

The Sunrise Health and Wellness Center, a medication-assisted treatment center in Rancho Cordova, had a booth at the Fighting Fentanyl event run by Linda Amacher, a nurse, and Aviana Olivas, a medical assistant and receptionist. 

“It’s a really fun environment. Getting our name out there, getting all the kids’ exposure to what everyone does, keeping clean,” Amacher said. 

Amacher said it was “nice to show kids that fun can be had without any drugs involved.” 

Able Calderon of Sac’s Finest Boxing in South Sacramento said the fight against fentanyl is similar to a fight in boxing. He said that “every loss should push us to be better and every win isn’t a bragging right.” The organization focuses on at-risk youth and the boxing classes range from ages 5 to 37. 

Custom classic cars line up in the Victory Outreach Church parking lot during the Fighting Fentanyl event on June 14 in West Sacramento. 

Calderon said that “it means a lot” to be involved with the Fighting Fentanyl event because he lost his nephew to fentanyl poisoning. 

“One minute I’m playing basketball with him in front of the house and the next, I’m getting a phone call,” Calderon said. 

Phardy Healthcare Mentoring Boot Camp was another nonprofit organization at the event with founder Pam Hardy and her son teaching life skills such as basic math and proper health. The year-round program is for children ages 6 to 17. 

“I’m blessed to be a part of this, even though it’s kind of rough and everybody’s still healing, the wound’s still open, but just to know that we’re not in it all by ourselves,” Calderon said. “Everybody is fighting together as a community. You can’t go everywhere your kids go but your words can.”