CLEVELAND — Sara Szelagowski is the founder of Project White Butterfly, a nonprofit organization that puts cards with words of encouragement and resources in the community for those battling addiction. Each week, Szelagowski and her team spend time in neighborhoods providing resources for those in need.
“For about three hours we handed out 75 boxes of Narcan and a bunch of fentanyl test strips,” said Sara Szelagowski.
For Szelagowski, the mission is personal.
“I’m in recovery myself. I have five and a half years sober. I never imagined that I could live life like this, but I went to residential treatment and I had that pause in my life where I could sit back and realize what had happened,” said Szelagowski. “I had enough time for my brain to do some healing and I had enough support in my life that I was able to change.”
It’s why she’s so passionate about helping to save the lives of others.
“We collaborate with other community initiatives that work with people with substance use disorder. We really, we are trying to find funding for a sustainable way to keep a stock of Narcan because these boxes that we give out are $75 each, so they’re not free and Narcan is in high demand right now because people do know that the numbers are so bad,” said Szelagowski.
According to the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiners Office, at least 304 people have died in 2021 from overdoses related to heroin, fentanyl or analogs, compared to 192 deaths in 2020. Drug overdoses are on the rise across the country, in fact, new data released from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows more than 93,000 people died from overdoses in 2020.
“To think about maybe 1 in 10 of those people had received some kind of treatment and effective treatment, it’s just really sad,” said Szelagowski.
Through her work with Project White Butterfly, Szelagowski hopes to break the stigma surrounding addiction and educate people on how to help someone who is struggling.
“When someone with addiction is escalating in their behaviors rather than punishing them for that or, you know, becoming angry with them for that we need to recognize that hey this addiction is taking a really stronghold and we need to help this person,” said Szelagowski.
To connect with Project White Butterfly for help or resources you can click here.
