Fentanyl continues to be the lead killer of young adults between 18 and 45 in San Diego County, according to the San Diego County District Attorney's Office.
Two North County mothers, Heather Ridout and Lisa Arnell, share a personal connection with that statistic and are now turning to the community, hoping to raise awareness about the dangers of the deadly drug.
Heather and Lisa each lost one of their sons after a fentanyl overdose within the last 14 months. They say everyone should remember that it could happen to anyone.
After connecting through a mutual friend, the pair organized a first-of-its-kind roller hockey tournament on Saturday.
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Hockey was one of Spencer Ridout's first loves, making the rink a natural place for his mother to turn to to spread awareness.
Nearly six dozen players across 14 teams joined the inaugural "Puck Fentanyl" hockey tournament created in Spencer's memory.
In November 2022, Spencer took half of a Xanax pill that ended up being laced with fentanyl. The other half was found in his wallet, his mother explained to NBC 7. Spencer was just 25 years old.
"Just a month shy of his 26th birthday in December," his mother said. It was a milestone he never got to reach because of fentanyl.
Heather remembers that day clearly, recalling, "I just talked to him hours prior. We were making plans to go to the desert with his friends."
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The pain of losing a son to a fentanyl overdose is one that Lisa also knows too well.
Lisa's son Jacob died following a March 2020 car accident near Mission Bay. Jacob's twin, Zach, died after a fentanyl overdose a little more than six months ago on June 13, 2023.
"It's heartbreaking," Lisa said. "Not just to lose one child but to lose two and lose both. Parents are supposed to go first, right?"
She then shared that Zach "started with opiates [when] he was a football player and got injured and started up in North Dakota. They just kept feeding him opiates, and it turned into this."
Zach and Spencer knew each other when they were students at Rancho Bernardo High School. Both were athletes, and both had big futures.
"[Zach's] dream was to play D1 football," shared Lisa. "That was his dream, and he did it, but he died doing it."
After being drug-free for more than four years, he relapsed.
"One time, and it killed him. He didn’t want to die," Lisa said.
Now, Lisa and Heather are trying to heal.
"Honestly, for a mom that's struggling and has a broken heart, there are very few things that can help that pain, and the amount of love my heart feels deep down inside is amazing," Heather shared while holding back tears.
And both mothers know it's not going unnoticed.
Lisa shared a message with her son: "I love you, and I hope you’re having the best time up there, and I hope you’re proud of what mommy’s doing because I’m trying to get it out there for you guys."
Saturday's fundraiser raised about $4,500 for a local nonprofit organization that aids with advocacy for treatment and recovery, Heather shared. The pair is also looking forward to a larger event next year.
San Diego's fentanyl crisis
The City of San Diego says there has been a 53% increase in fentanyl-related arrests in 2023.
The drug, however, claimed the lives of more than 400 people within the city last year, leading it to be called the epicenter of the fentanyl crisis.
That title led Nate Smiddy, a community advocate working for the Harm Reduction Coalition of San Diego, to say that more needs to be done than just arrests.
"If they're going to be arresting people, we need to have a follow-up with additional services in that area. It's the predominant opioid on the street," Smiddy shared.
Smiddy says his nonprofit works to get fentanyl test strips for the community, as well as to get sanitary items to the unhoused on the street.
Through the end of last year, 410 people had died from a fentanyl overdose in the City of San Diego, and more than 800 countywide. Leaders say we're on track for that same staggering number for 2023.
In mid-October, Mayor Todd Gloria and California Attorney General Rob Bonta hosted a roundtable discussion on strategies and actions being taken to address the growing problem of the dangerous street drug fentanyl.
"This is a problem that demands a unified response from all segments of our society -- government, health care, law enforcement and the community," Gloria said in October. "We are standing united to stop the misery that fentanyl is causing in San Diego and across California."
