TOLEDO, Ohio — A south Toledo mother and the Drug Abuse Response Team are joining forces in an effort to help you or your loved ones fight drug addiction.
This year, advocates are set up at the Lucas County Fair ready to train you on using a life-saving kit.
Sarah Phillips, who has a fiance and a son named Mason, says she has been sober for more than three years now because of D.A.R.T.
"I still remember thinking to myself, 'I'm never gonna be able to do this. I'm gonna be a drug addict the rest of my life,'" said Phillips.
For the first time, she's sharing her story with us about her battle with addiction.
"The prescription pain pills were, like I said 18, 19 [years old]. I can't remember what age I started using heroin and crack but it all just kind of, one led to another. And my addiction spiraled out of control very, very quickly," said Phillips.
Phillips struggled with addiction for about 15 years. Through most of that time, she says D.A.R.T. with the Lucas County Sheriff's Office was always by her side.
D.A.R.T. advocate Tamme Smith says it's the unit's job to save people who are going through a dark time.
"Unfortunately during the pandemic, what we saw was an influx. An increase in individuals actually using and overdosing here within Northwest Ohio. And it wasn't just in Northwest Ohio. We saw it all across the nation," said Smith.
This week, the unit is set up at the Lucas County Fair, giving away Narcan and training people who stop by.
"It's imperative we have you know, our families, our friends, our neighbors, become trained in Narcan. And actually carry this life-saving kit. This again is the only thing that will reverse an opiate overdose," said Smith.
In 2020, D.A.R.T. officers engaged with 291 people and were able to link 65-percent of those to treatment services.
For Phillips, that type of interaction is what brought her to this point.
"Without the D.A.R.T. program, I'd probably be sitting in prison and I don't know that I would have been there through my son's whole life," said Phillips.
Now sober, and through faith, she can enjoy her family and have the mission to one day open her own treatment center.
"I just want people to know that there's hope out there," said Phillips.
D.A.R.T. will once again be at the Lucas County Fair giving away Narcan kits and conducting training.
They are set up from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Phillips says you can also reach out to her on her Facebook page if you need advice or help.