Ending the Stigma
Standard 5 & 10 is not your typical Ace. Any aisle you choose to go down, you're likely to come across something unexpected. Nestled in the heart of San Francisco, the store very much mirrors the eclectic-ness of the city it calls home. Still an old-fashioned variety store at heart, locally run by only two families since opening in 1939, and an Ace store for only about half of that time.
Within the store, there is another unexpected resource for the community it serves. Almost every employee is a trained first responder to administer Narcan. Narcan is a nasal spray meant to pull someone directly out of a potentially fatal opioid overdose.
The Bay Area like the rest of the country, is currently battling a deadly epidemic. Drug use in the Bay Area has always been an issue. A recent surge in synthetic drugs like Fentanyl are flooding the market, silently killing young adults at record rates.
This was the unfortunate case for Jeff and Michelle, who lost their son Trevor just a couple years back. Trevor who suffered from drug addiction and anxiety, thought he was taking an Oxycodone at his school Sonoma State University; unbeknownst to him the pill was laced with fentanyl. Cutting his life short.
His mother Michelle, a cancer survivor, has always been an active volunteer and accidental activist PTA, Moms Demand Action, spearheading the No-Neonic Movement to help pollinators, and much more. What she didn't realize was all of that was just training for her largest battle yet: Overdose prevention and Narcan education. Using Ace as her platform, she spreads community awareness about the dangers of Fentanyl. This is especially true during August which includes both Fentanyl Awareness and Prevention, and International Overdose Awareness Days. She trains staff, customers, and community, distributing free Narcan kits and education on how to help others. Her hope is that when someone needs help in the future that someone is there to prevent other parents from having to bury their child.
It's an uphill battle. But she is not alone. Her team sticks by her side, through thick and thin to support her and her cause. They find strength in her strength and admire her ambition, to honor the life Trevor left behind.
