In fentanyl fight, victims’ families find purpose
PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Pills made to look like pain killers, but are really laced with fentanyl, are getting more common, especially in Virginia. In 2023, the Drug Enforcement Administration confiscated more than 400,000 pills in the state.
Mikeala Campbell lost her 18-year-old brother seven months ago to an accidental fentanyl overdose.
“He was an amazing person,” Campbell said. “He was everything you’d want to be. He was kind, forgiving, loving, caring.”
Her brother, William Maupin, graduated high school early and was in the middle of an HVAC apprenticeship at the time. Campbell said he struggled with depression and decided to self-medicate.
“He took what he thought was half of a Percocet, which would be 15 milligrams,” Campbell said. “And when his toxicology report came back, it read that it was only fentanyl and bermazaleum.”
Karleen Wolanin nearly lost her daughter to a fentanyl overdose last year. She said most minors who try these pills are trying to numb the pain of a possible mental illness.
“Yes, I think it’s not handling it in the way that they know how,” Wolanin said. “It’s very hard to speak on what they’ve gone through.”
Just six months ago, Wolanin founded the non-profit Virginia Fentanyl and Substance Awareness, which aims to give support for parents going through what she went through.
“It’s a safe place,” Wolanin said. “It creates no judgment. It’s breaking that stigma. It’s taking that grief and turning it into positivity and proactive.”
It was this non-profit Mikeala found herself drawn to — saying it’s sad how little people know about fentanyl until it’s too late.
“It’s killing a lot of youth,” Campbell said. “It’s killing everyone pretty much. There’s probably enough fentanyl in this country to kill all of us already.”
She’s helping spread the word, hoping to save someone the way she wished she could have saved her brother.
“He wasn’t a junkie,” Campbell said. “He didn’t deserve to die. He loved his life, and he was thrilled about his future. He knew what he was doing was wrong but the consequence of that shouldn’t be death and it shouldn’t be death for anybody.”
If you want to get involved with Virginia Fentanyl and Substance Awareness, or if you want information, or free Narcan, you can contact them through its Facebook page. you can also email Karleen at VirginiaFentanylAwareness@gmail.com, or call her at 804-247-2348.
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