'Lift the stigma': Walk raises awareness for fentanyl poisoning, opioid use

Patty Stovall has been breaking the silence and shattering the stigma that surrounds substance use for years now. Her effort took another meaningful step forward Saturday afternoon.

Sounds of Sarah organized its third rendition of the "We Fight Together" drug poisoning and overdose 3K walk and run in Highland's Wicker Park, drawing scores of people, many of whom have lost family members killed by drugs.

About a dozen other organizations, including the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Drug Induced Homicide Inc. and Heroin Epidemic Relief Organization, came out to support Sounds of Sarah. Their goal? To spread awareness and destigmatize the drug epidemic that has impacted so many Northwest Indiana families, Hoosiers and Americans.

Patty Stovall founded Sounds of Sarah in 2022 after her daughter, Sarah Stovall, died of an overdose at the age of 33 the year prior.

"This event isn't just a walk or run," Patty Stovall told the crowd of well over 100 people. "It's a movement for Lake County, a way to raise awareness, to educate, to connect and to take action. At Sounds of Sarah, our mission is to create real change, to expand access to life-saving resources, to support those affected by substance use and to support families who have lost loved ones to drug poisoning and overdose."

In Lake County, 156 people died of a drug overdose in 2024, fewer deaths than the previous year for the third consecutive year.

John Roberts's son, Billy, died of an overdose on Sept. 20, 2009. Roberts said he gathered his wife and three surviving children the following day for an important proposal.

"I said (to them), 'Billy didn't have much time on this planet. If we want to make him and his life relevant at all, I'm suggesting we go out and help other families.'"

Roberts co-founded the HERO foundation, which provides grief support to families impacted by heroin and opioid overdoses and offers drug education and Narcan training to high school students and adults alike.

Area officials and local stakeholders have credited the increased availability of Narcan, the opioid poisoning reversal drug, for gradually bringing the number of Lake County drug overdoses down. But Patty Stovall said events like Saturday's also go a long way in showing that families affected have a community of people who have lived through what can initially be an isolating feeling.

"People need to know they're not alone," said Rep. Frank J. Mrvan, D-Highland, after he spent the afternoon speaking to impacted families and interacting with several nonprofit organizations. "As a member of Congress, I have to make sure that there's laws... to make sure that we protect our border and our ports from fentanyl coming in. I believe that the other side of that is making sure that there's funding for people who are addicted, that there's addictive care dollars available for all the different agencies that are here trying to make a difference in people's lives."

The 3rd-term member of Congress said it was important for him and others to show up Saturday to "help lift the stigma" surrounding opioids.

"This happens to everyone," Mrvan said. "My role is to constantly talk about and inventory these agencies so that people know where to go when they're facing a crisis within their own family."

State Rep. Mike Andrade, D-Munster, co-sponsored Senate Bill 324, legislation passed into law May 6 that increased penalties for crimes related to fentanyl. Andrade has tried to create stricter laws surrounding the dangerous synthetic drug since 2023, he said.
Under the new law, a person caught with under 1 gram of fentanyl would be charged with a Level 4 felony instead of a Level 5 felony, increasing the defendant's sentence if convicted by an average of two years. Up to 5 grams of fentanyl now equates to a Level 3 felony charge and any amount over 5 grams constitutes Level 2 felony charges.

Previously, a defendant would have needed to possess at least 7 grams of fentanyl to face Level 2 charges, at least 3 grams to face Level 3 and at least 1 gram to be indicted with a Level 4 felony.

"I'm going to do everything in my power to ensure that we're putting strong legislation to go after these criminals, because for far too long, people in our communities are hurting," Andrade said.

He cited Northwest Indiana's geographic positioning to the immediate east of Chicago and along the Borman Expressway and Interstate 65 corridors as a reason for extra concern. On Wednesday, the Lake County Sheriff's Department seized up to 10,000 likely fentanyl pills during a traffic stop near the Lake County and Jasper County border on I-65, and there are numerous other instances of similar drug busts on the Region's interstates.