PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — Pictures of people from all walks of life lined the memorial wall on Pasco Hernando State College's campus Thursday night.
Among the pictures Danette Hopper's son Jaron Frizalone, better known as Scooby.
"Jaron was one of those people that if you've ever met him, you never forgot him and when he walked in a room, he just lit up the room," Hopper said.
Frizalone died of a fentanyl overdose in 2017. Since then, his mother has worked to keep his memory alive through Scooby's Story while also working to help people fighting addiction.
"Scooby's story means everything in the world to me. I dedicate all my free time to it," she said.
"My hope is to remove the stigma. Anybody can suffer from addiction. Anybody can die from an overdose the first time they use. My hope is that people will become aware that addiction can happen to anybody." Hopper explained.
As a mother, Hopper also understands how hard it is for the families of loved ones who have died from addiction or are currently battling addiction. That's why there's a memory fence in her yard.
"You can put a lock on for anybody that you knew that passed away from addiction," she said. "That fence is like a place to go and just remember. I have a mother that comes by there often and just sits. Her daughter's lock is on the fence," she said.
While the lives lost brought people together Thursday night, there was also a focus on the lives that can be saved.
Randy Grimes, a former Tampa Bay Buccaneer, shared his story of addiction at the vigil.
"I was that guy willing to do whatever I had to do to stay out on the field and you know, I justified it so easy. I wanted to be the best center that ever played the game," Grimes said.
Grimes realized his dreams came at a cost. He developed an addiction to pain pills and sleeping pills.
"The last two years of my career, that necessary evil progressed to the point where I was playing complete NFL football games in a blackout. So I knew then. You know, I knew then that it was a problem, but I couldn't stop. I couldn't stop the insanity. You know, that is addiction," he said.
Through recovery, Grimes realized he wasn't the only person to miss the early warning signs.
"The bad thing about all that is that in the seven or eight years that this was going on, not once did anybody ever say, 'Randy, why are you slurring your words?' Or 'Randy, why are you late to meetings?' Or 'Randy, why are you nodding off in meetings?'," he recalled. "You know, it's because I was always playing good. And even though those blackouts playing and playing in those blackouts, I was playing good."
Now he works at White Sands, helping others battling addiction. He's also the founder of Athletes in Recovery.
"When I came into treatment, back in September of 2009, there was nothing out there for former players, former NFL players. And I knew there was a lot of guys out there just like me, who were suffering in silence with that warrior mentality and the stigma, you know, of raising their hand and asking for help," said Grimes.
The stigma isn't just for athletes. Pasco County saw a 56% increase in addiction in recent years.
According to the Department of Health, the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office reported nearly 1,500 overdoses in 2020, resulting in 268 deaths. That's a 71% increase from the year before.
According to the CDC, since 1999, more than 930,000 people have died from drug overdose nationally.
In 2020 alone, nearly 92,000 people died in the United States and overdose deaths increased by 31% from 2019 to 2020.
The state of Florida is stepping in to address the issue, starting with some of the most hard-hit counties, like Pasco.
Trang Chitakone is the Assistant County Health Department Director. She's helped launch the CORE program, short for Coordinated Opioid Recovery. Between Pasco Fire & Rescue, BayCare, and the Pasco County Department of Health, the initiative aims to provide more long-term care for people battling addiction.
"It starts at the point of when a first responder may respond to an overdose, or if someone is looking for treatment, they connect them to the services. And the key point there is to be able to do that follow-up and make sure that they get into services," said Chitakone. "Then the long-term piece is being able to connect them to a long-term medical home so that they can treat anything from infectious diseases or any kind of health conditions that they may have."
Tracey Kaly, Director of Operations at BayCare Behavioral Health, says the follow-up component is what makes this program unique.
"What the CORE program does is expands the role of Fire Rescue significantly. So Fire Rescue is now really involved in following up with those patients that they responded to that they took to the hospital, talking to them about services that they might need, both addiction services, medication-assisted treatment, and mental health services that they might need," Kaly explained.
The program officially launched in Pasco just weeks ago. The first county in the state to use the model was Palm Beach. There are currently 12 counties using CORE at the time.
"Based on what we see as Department of Health, is long-term health effects of addiction is costly and obviously hurts the individual, their health-wise, at least. So having that long-term medical hole is important to be able to connect to additional services," said Chitakone.
You can learn more about CORE here.
If you want to put a lock on Hopper's Memory Fence, as well as learn more about Scooby's Story, you can join the Facebook Group.
Grimes currently helps people battling addiction at White Sands in Plant City.
The Pasco County Alliance for Healthy Communities can connect you or a loved one to other resources in the community.
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Resources
- Baycare CORE Program | 24-hour phone number 727- 315- 8715
- Pasco County Alliance for Healthy Communities
- White Sands
- Hopper's Memory Fence Facebook Group
- Athletes in Recovery
