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Tag: overdose death

  • Father Pens Powerful Obituary For Daughter Who Died Of Overdose

    Father Pens Powerful Obituary For Daughter Who Died Of Overdose

    The mother of four passed away during a rehab stay in New Hampshire at the age of 31.

    A Vermont father shed light on the issue of separating families impacted by substance abuse by sharing his late daughter’s experience as a mother of four.

    Megan Webbley died on September 29 at a treatment facility in New Hampshire. She was 31 years old. Her obituary, written by her father Edwin Webbley, was published recently in Vermont’s local Seven Days alt-weekly.

    Mr. Webbley did not hide the fact that Megan struggled with substance use disorder. “Specifically, she died of an overdose, finally losing her battle with addiction,” he wrote. “She was in Manchester, NH, seeking treatment for her addiction. We have no clear picture of what went wrong.”

    He described his daughter’s empathy, love for music and dancing, and her “big smile and an infectious laugh”—though “shadowed by opiate addiction.”

    Megan was a mother to four children, who were “collectively the light of her dark life.” Her father remembered a happy moment in 2018 she spent playing in the pool with her children. “It was at that point when she was the happiest we had seen her in years.”

    Her Addiction Journey

    Megan’s battle with substance use disorder began with a severe accident in 2005, where she fell off of a cliff—“I was told that she had been pushed off the cliffs and hit the rocks below.” She was stitched up and her jaw was wired shut.

    “They suspected a (traumatic brain injury), but when they prescribed her liberal doses of opiates, she lost control of her life. She would be in and out of rehab—and jail—for the next 14 years,” Mr. Webbley wrote.

    A Plea To Stop Separating Parents With Addiction From Children

    He concluded by shedding light on the harrowing experience of losing custody of one’s children because of a substance use disorder.

    “To editorialize, I am hoping that the Department for Children and Families (DCF) rethinks its mission to be the punisher of addicted mothers, the separator of families and the arbiter of children’s futures, and instead embrace a mission of enhanced rehabilitation,” he wrote.

    “We, as a state, are overwhelmed by addiction. We have almost nowhere to turn. I encourage enhanced funding for treatment in general and using DCF as a gateway for mothers with addiction to get help. Because, as one would guess, once the mother is separated from her children, desperation sets in, even with the brightest and most determined of mothers—and Megan Angelina Webbley was that bright and determined mother…with a fatal disease and a dearth of treatment options.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Austin Eubanks’ Ex-Wife Says Columbine Survivor Was Under Pressure To Be Perfect 

    Austin Eubanks’ Ex-Wife Says Columbine Survivor Was Under Pressure To Be Perfect 

    Eubanks died in May 2019 from “acute heroin toxicity” at the age of 37.

    Austin Eubanks was under pressure to be the perfect role model of recovery, his ex-wife said in a recent conversation.

    Aimee Bouc, who had two children with Eubanks, recently opened up to KSHB Kansas City about how the Columbine survivor struggled even as he promoted recovery.

    “There was so much pressure put on him to be this perfect person in the eyes of the world,” Bouc said. “He didn’t feel he could actually go and get the treatment when he did go back to it.”

    Becoming An Advocate

    Eubanks emerged from his teenage trauma to become a prominent recovery advocate who dedicated himself to helping others.

    “His story and the power behind Columbine really put him front and center of the opioid [epidemic],” said Bouc. “He brought a complete level of awareness and helped so many people and I’ve read their comments on how he helped them shape their lives. It just brought me tears of joy.”

    Bouc said she suspected Austin was using again before his fatal overdose in May 2019.

    Austin struggled with his recovery despite his advocacy. His death was a jarring reminder that recovering from trauma and substance use disorder is a lifelong battle.

    “I believe there was always a fight,” said Bouc. “I don’t believe he was always using, [I] believe that was more recently.”

    She added, “It never stops being a struggle. I don’t think addiction is something you can just stop struggling one day; it’s always a work in progress.”

    After Columbine

    Austin was 17 when he was shot in the arm and knee during the Columbine High School massacre on April 20, 1999. He turned to drugs to numb the emotional trauma of that day, including witnessing his best friend die during the shooting.

    “My injuries were not to the point of needing an opiate pain medication,” he told The Fix in a 2016 interview. “But I was immediately given a 30-day supply. Within three months I became addicted… I used substances every day, day in and day out.”

    When he found recovery, he dedicated himself to helping others get well. “The message I want to send to people is to ask for help,” he told The Fix. “I lived in the dark for over a decade in my addiction. I could never see a path out. Ask for help because it’s there.”

    Eubanks died in May 2019 from “acute heroin toxicity” at the age of 37. His family said in a statement following his passing that he “lost the battle with the very disease he fought so hard to help others face.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Robert F. Kennedy's Granddaughter Dies After Overdose 

    Robert F. Kennedy's Granddaughter Dies After Overdose 

    Saoirse Kennedy Hill was 22.

    Robert F. Kennedy’s granddaughter, who spoke openly as a high schooler about her struggles with depression and suicide, was found dead of an apparent overdose at the family’s summer home near Cape Cod, Massachusetts yesterday. Saoirse Kennedy Hill was 22. 

    Hill was the daughter of Courtney Kennedy Hill, 62, and Paul Hill, 65, and the granddaughter of the late Robert F. Kennedy and his wife Ethel, 91. 

    Emergency responders went to the Kennedy Compound in Hyannis, Massachusetts at about 2 p.m. Thursday afternoon. Hill was transported to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The family confirmed the death to People. 

    “Our hearts are shattered by the loss of our beloved Saoirse. Her life was filled with hope, promise, and love,” the family statement said. “She cared deeply about friends and family, especially her mother Courtney, her father Paul, her stepmother Stephanie, and her grandmother Ethel.”

    Ethel Remembers

    Ethel Kennedy remembered her granddaughter’s passions. 

    “The world is a little less beautiful today. She lit up our lives with her love, her peals of laughter and her generous spirit,” Kennedy said. “Saoirse was passionately moved by the causes of human rights and women’s empowerment and found great joy in volunteer work, working alongside indigenous communities to build schools in Mexico. We will love her and miss her forever.”

    The police said that the matter remains under investigation. 

    Three years ago, Hill wrote an essay for the newspaper at her private high school, Deerfield Academy, detailing her struggles with mental illness. 

    “My depression took root in the beginning of my middle school years and will be with me for the rest of my life,” she wrote. “Although I was mostly a happy child, I suffered bouts of deep sadness that felt like a heavy boulder on my chest.”

    Coping With Mental Illness

    In that essay, she revealed that she had a suicide attempt just before her junior year. Since then, she was taking her health into her own hands, she said. “When I’m in a really bad place, I do my best to surround myself with positive people and upbeat music, but too often it feels as if I’m drowning in my own thoughts, while everyone else seems to be breathing comfortably.”

    In the days before Hill died she seemed to be doing just that. Her uncle Robert F. Kennedy Jr. posted an Instagram photo of her jumping from a sailboat into the ocean (the picture seems to have since been taken down). 

    This isn’t the first time that the Kennedy family has been touched by tragedy, or addiction. Patrick Kennedy, the nephew of Hill’s grandfather, has become an outspoken advocate for addiction and mental health treatment, after getting into recovery himself. 

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • "This American Life" Spotlights "Dopey," a Podcast on Addiction and Recovery

    "This American Life" Spotlights "Dopey," a Podcast on Addiction and Recovery

    Using dark comedy, “Dopey” promotes recovery and pushes back against the stigma associated with addiction. 

    The NPR weekly radio/podcast series This American Life featured a segment on its February 1st broadcast about Dopey, a podcast about addiction and recovery heard by more than four million listeners.

    The podcast began as a forum for creators and hosts Dave and Chris—as well as guests ranging from Marc Maron and Dr. Drew Pinsky, to My Fair Junkie author and The Fix contributor Amy Dresner—to share “war stories” about their struggles without judgment and with a degree of humor. 

    Dresner was a recent guest on the podcast (and will return as a rotating co-host) where she discussed how her experience trying to treat ringworm made her want to use again.  

    But with the overdose death of Chris in July 2018, Dave has shifted the focus of Dopey to promote recovery while continuing to address the stigma of addiction.

    As a result, the podcast has grown both in terms of the number of fans—also known as the “Dopey Nation,” who have helped to boost downloads to more than 1.2 million to date—and as a community for listeners in all stages of recovery, as well as family and friends, to come together. 

    As Vice noted, the roots of Dopey began in 2011, when hosts Dave and Chris—who do not give their surnames—met at Mountainside Treatment Center in Connecticut while undergoing treatment for substance use disorder.

    The pair became friends, and after acquiring and losing various periods of sobriety, they decided to launch a podcast about addiction that focused on what Dave called “the last bad thing”—tales from their past including “using stories, open-ended drug discussion and debate over addiction philosophy,” as the pair wrote on the podcast’s website. 

    Dopey soon caught on with listeners, who submitted their own recollections. The result was a podcast where those in every stage of recovery could share their experiences and gain support.

    Then in 2018, Dopey Nation was rocked by the news that Chris had been found dead of an overdose. He had been sober for five years at the time of the incident, working as a manager at a sober living facility and studying to earn his doctorate in clinical psychology.

    In the wake of Chris’s death, Dave was determined to carry on with Dopey, but as he told Vice, “It’s apparent now more than ever that Dopey‘s main focus will be addicts living in recovery. Chris’s legacy will live on through these episodes, and the lives he touched all around the world.”

    The new approach has also brought a wealth of new guests, including Jamie Lee Curtis, Beautiful Boy author David Sheff, and musician and recovery advocate Bob Forrest.

    For Dave, continuing the podcast means giving individuals in the grip of addiction a place to go, to listen, and to share.

    “[They] are not just showing up for Dopey, they’re showing up to support one another,” Dave said.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Man Who Shared Drugs That Caused Fatal Overdose Appeals Conviction

    Man Who Shared Drugs That Caused Fatal Overdose Appeals Conviction

    Two friends pooled money to buy heroin. Should the one who made the run be held responsible for the other’s fatal overdose?

    In October 2013, Jesse Carillo, a college student at the University of Massachusetts, headed south to New York, where he purchased heroin before returning to campus. Back at home he shared the drugs with his friend Eric Sinacori.

    Two days later, Carillo made the same run, and again brought drugs back for Sinacori. The next day, Sinacori died at age 20 from a heroin overdose. 

    Carillo was charged in connection with the overdose, and sentenced to a year in jail for involuntary manslaughter and drug distribution. However, he appealed his conviction and on Monday (Feb. 4) the Supreme Judicial Court in Massachusetts heard the case over whether people should face charges when the drugs they share lead to a fatal overdose. 

    “When Jesse and another addict pooled their funds to purchase this heroin, it should not constitute manslaughter when the other addict overdosed,” Jay Carney, Carrillo’s lawyer, told The Boston Globe before the hearing. “We are asking the SJC to reassess the approaches taken in heroin cases given the opiate crisis in Massachusetts… These addicts should not be treated the same as drug dealers selling heroin for profit.”

    Before the SJC, Carney emphasized that Carrillo, who now works at a recovery center, was not criminally responsible for his friend’s overdose.

    “Jesse Carrillo was not a drug dealer. He didn’t profit from getting Eric the heroin, he didn’t benefit in any way. He just pooled the money, went to the dealer, purchased it, and gave Eric exactly what he had paid for,” the lawyer said, according to WBUR. 

    In Massachusetts, officials including the governor and attorney general have called for stricter penalties for people who provide the drugs that lead to an overdose. However, Carney insisted that these calls should focus on dealers, not people like Carillo who merely purchased the drugs for friends. 

    “I realize that I raised the hackles of the attorney general, who filed an amicus brief saying heroin is wicked bad. It’s wicked bad. We know that,” Carillo said. “What we have to determine is, is a person acting as a possessor of heroin when he buys heroin in a joint venture with another person?”

    Justice Scott Kafker seemed to take the point, especially since Carillo and Sinacori had purchased drugs together before from the same dealer that they used in October 2013. 

    “He’s bought this heroin multiple times, used it himself, he’s not died on any of these occasions. Isn’t that about as safe a drug delivery as we’re going to hear about when you’re dealing with heroin?” Kafker said. 

    However, Northwestern Assistant District Attorney Cynthia Von Flatern, who was prosecuting the case, said that Carillo was acting recklessly by supplying drugs to someone with a severe addiction. The case hinges on whether Carillo was acting in a “wanton and reckless” manner by giving Sinacori the drugs. 

    Around the country, drug users often face charges when the people they are using with overdose. In Massachusetts, the case is expected to have policy implications when the SJC issues a ruling, which is expected within 130 days.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Young Mayor’s Overdose Death Captures National Epidemic

    Young Mayor’s Overdose Death Captures National Epidemic

    “I never would’ve thought he had an issue. Brandon made a mistake and paid the ultimate price,” the former mayor’s mother said after his fatal overdose. 

    The story of a small-town Pennsylvania mayor and his friend who both fatally overdosed on opioids is highlighting the dangers of the national drug epidemic and the heartbreak of families left behind. 

    Brandon Wentz was 24 when he overdosed last year. He had recently resigned as mayor of Mount Carbon, population 87, because his family had moved to a nearby town. The resignation hit Wentz hard, said his mother, Janel Firestone.

    “You could just see the stress and sadness in him,” she told the Associated Press.

    After struggling to write his resignation letter, which ended up being just 180 words, Wentz’s friend Ryan Fessler came over. The pair had been spending more time together, according to Fessler’s childhood friend. 

    “They were the same person,” she said. “They both wrote, they both drew, they would make up funny raps together. They really did want the best for each other.”

    However, this worried some of Wentz’s friends, who knew that Fessler struggled with substance abuse. 

    “He wasn’t a bad person, he was nice, but he had his own demons, too, and demons will invite more demons,” said Brandon Radziewicz, Wentz’s longtime friend. “I think they were good at fueling each other’s habits.”

    The day of the resignation letter, the two men went to Wentz’s room until Fessler left. That afternoon, Firestone tried to wake her son for his overnight shift, but he wouldn’t rouse. She suspected he had a migraine, and since he had always been a heavy sleeper she wasn’t concerned. However, the next morning Wentz was dead of an overdose of heroin and fentanyl, something that shocked Firestone.

    “I never would’ve thought he had an issue,” she said. “Brandon made a mistake and paid the ultimate price.” 

    While Wentz’s family was blindsided, Fessler’s family knew of his addiction and did everything possible to protect him from overdose until he died just six months after Wentz, even sending him to treatment in Florida. However, Fessler’s grief over losing his best friend just made his addiction worse. A few weeks after Wentz died, Fessler’s girlfriend found him in bed crying, saying, “I killed my best friend. I gave it to him.” 

    Firestone, who was always skeptical of her son’s relationship with Fessler, blamed him for Wentz’s overdose. Fessler’s mother, Kim Kramer, said she understands completely.

    “I get it, I truly do,” she said. “You wake up, you think about it all day, it’s forever there. You want to find out who gave it to them. … You want to hate the one who handed your son the bag.”

    Firestone says she wishes Wentz’s friends had brought his drug abuse to her attention, something Radziewicz says he should have done, in hindsight. 

    “I was thinking, foolishly, that I would lose my best friend, and he wouldn’t talk to me again,” he said. “Guess what? I lost my best friend.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Family Of Woman Whose Obituary Went Viral Sue For Info About Her Death

    Family Of Woman Whose Obituary Went Viral Sue For Info About Her Death

    According to the suit by the ACLU, police refused to provide Madelyn Lisenmeir with medical attention while being held in custody–neglect that may have led to her death.

    When Madelyn Linsenmeir died after a battle with opioid addiction on October 7, 2018, her family penned a heartfelt obituary for the 30-year-old single mother and earned sympathy and praise across the globe for turning their tragedy into a plea to help other opioid dependency sufferers.

    Now Linsenmeir’s family is suing the city of Springfield, Massachusetts and its police force to find out what happened to her in the days leading up to her death. According to the suit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Linsenmeir had requested and been refused medical attention while in police custody and remained in a woman’s correctional facility until October 4, when she was taken to intensive care. Linsenmeir died three days later, and her family is requesting that the Springfield police turn over any audiovisual recordings that would corroborate the allegations of neglect.

    According to the suit, Linsenmeir texted her family on September 28, 2018 with complaints that she was “really sick” and needed to be hospitalized. The following day, Springfield police arrested her for probation-related violations, including providing a false name, according to their arrest log. She was transferred to the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department and held at the Western Massachusetts Regional Women’s Correctional Center in Chicopee, Massachusetts.

    The ACLU suit then alleged that at the time of her arrest, Linsenmeir was allowed to call her mother, Maureen, with a Springfield police officer on the line. She reportedly informed her mother that she was not receiving medical attention, but as the suit alleged, “the police officer refused to provide medical attention and even made a sarcastic comment to Maureen after Maureen expressed concern that Madelyn was being denied care.”

    On October 4, Linsenmeir was transferred by ambulance to the Baystate Medical Center’s intensive care unit and died there on October 7, still in police custody but with her family in attendance.

    The ACLU alleged that the phone conversation with Linsenmeir’s mother confirms that the Springfield Police Department was aware she had been refused medical treatment and is “likely in possession of audiovisual recordings” that would corroborate their claim. In the suit, Linsenmeir’s family wrote, “release of the requested records would serve the public interest by supporting Madelyn’s family in their public advocacy for the humane treatment of opioid users and for increased access to medications and medical care for people suffering from opioid use disorder.”

    According to the suit, the police department and city of Springfield have not responded to the family’s request. Hampden County Sheriff Nicholas Cocchi, whose department was not named in the suit, expressed his sympathies to Linsenmeir’s family in an statement to CNN.

    The obituary that drew attention to Linsenmeir’s struggle, penned by her sister, Kate O’Neill, was brought to global attention through social media, where it was picked up by news media outlets. In the obit, O’Neill wrote, “If you are reading this with judgment, educate yourself about this disease, because that is what it is. It is not a choice or a weakness. And chances are very good that someone you know is struggling with it, and that person needs and deserves your empathy and support.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Lil Xan On Mac Miller's Death, His Own Sobriety: "I'm Not Completely Clean Yet"

    Lil Xan On Mac Miller's Death, His Own Sobriety: "I'm Not Completely Clean Yet"

    “You relapse. You don’t want to. You get clean again. And you relapse. It’s a process. You need treatment, and sometimes, that doesn’t even help.”

    Hip-hop artist Lil Xan spoke candidly about the overdose death of his idol, rapper Mac Miller, and his own struggles with substance use, including a recent relapse.

    In a conversation with TMZ on Nov. 5, Lil Xan (born Diego Leanos) said that while he wasn’t surprised that fentanyl played a role in his fellow artist’s demise, he remains devastated by the news.

    “It’s always fentanyl,” Leanos told TMZ in regard to Miller’s death on Sept. 7, 2018. He said that the synthetic opioid was among the primary reasons that he stopped dealing pills prior to his music career.

    “I was selling Xanax before I was a rapper, you know, when it was real,” he said. “And the minute it got to fentanyl, I was like, ‘I’m not going to sell this.’ My friends were taking it, they were puking. I was like, ‘I can’t… I’m out of the game.’”

    In regard to Miller’s death, Leanos told TMZ, “There’s been so many people [who died from fentanyl overdose], but in particular, Mac hurt the most, because it definitely changed my everything.”

    Leanos had been left so devastated by Miller’s death that in September, he considered retiring from music after fulfilling his recording contract. “When your hero dies, f—k that s—t,” he declared during a podcast interview. “I don’t want to make music no more.” 

    Most recently, Leanos has been recording a tribute album to Miller called Be Safe, which is reportedly due in December. He canceled a quintet of live appearances to focus his energy on completing the project, but added that he was also working on his sobriety.

    “I’m not completely clean yet,” he told TMZ. “I’m off Xanax, but narcos I’m still trying to wean off. ” 

    Leanos said that following his recent relapse, he sequestered himself in a forest and “detached from the world” to regain his sobriety. In regard to the relapse, he said, “Any addict would understand that s—t happens. You relapse. You don’t want to. You get clean again. And you relapse. It’s a process. You need treatment, and sometimes, that doesn’t even help.”

    Change, said Leanos, can only come when the individual wants it. “It has to come from within,” he said. “I’ve gone through periods of like, six months. And now it’s because of me. It’s because I want to be clean.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • French Montana Says He Could Have Saved Mac Miller From Addiction

    French Montana Says He Could Have Saved Mac Miller From Addiction

    “If I was around him a couple more nights, I would have made him stop … but he didn’t have nobody that was doing that.”

    Hip hop artist French Montana said that he could have stopped rapper Mac Miller’s overdose death by talking to his friend about the way that his drug use was getting out of control. 

    Speaking on BET’s Raq Rants, Montana said that Miller “was doing the same thing every other artist was doing out there.”

    He suggested that if Miller had someone to give him a reality check — or some tough love — the outcome might have been different. 

    “If you’ve seen the video that me and him did, I’m like, ‘Yo, bro, you’re overdoing it.’ But that was him way before,” he said. “Sometimes if people don’t have people that keep them grounded, it can go left. I just feel like they let him get away with whatever he chooses to do.”

    Montana went so far as to say that he could have stopped Miller from abusing drugs and alcohol. 

    “I feel like I have people that, if I do something like that, how I was to him like a big brother, like, ‘Bro, you’re bugging out.’ … He ain’t have that around him,” Montana said. “Because if I did it that night, if I was around him a couple more nights, I would have made him stop … but he didn’t have nobody that was doing that.”

    While Montana might want to believe that he could have helped his friend, anyone with up close experience with addiction knows that facilitating recovery isn’t as easy as just telling someone to snap out of it. 

    “Substances are incredibly powerful and rewarding,” Kevin Gilliland, a clinical psychologist and executive director of Innovation360 Dallas, told Yahoo Lifestyle. “It’s not as simple as someone saying, ‘You need to stop.’”

    Gilliland said that Montana is hinting at some important ways to help people who are dealing with addiction — including keeping them grounded. 

    “That is often a hugely important piece of helping someone fight addiction, it doesn’t always work,” Gilliland said. “One of the most powerful things I’ve seen for someone getting help for an addiction is having meaningful, significant relationships.” 

    Talking to someone about their substance abuse and letting them know that you are concerned is a good idea, he added. However, friends and family members have to realize that this doesn’t always work, and that it could make their loved one angry. 

    “They will get angry and defensive, but you have to talk to them,” Gilliland said. 

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Sister Dies From Overdose

    Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Sister Dies From Overdose

    Emma Louis-Dreyfus was 44.

    The half-sister of Julia Louis-Dreyfus, star of the HBO series Veep who is best known for her role as Elaine in Seinfeld, died of a cocaine and alcohol overdose while camping in California in August. 

    According to the DailyMail, Emma Louis-Dreyfus, 44, died on August 13 at a campsite in South Yuba River State Park in California. Responders were called to the campsite around 9:30 a.m. for reports of a woman who was having a seizure and unresponsive. It’s not clear whether Louis-Dreyfus died in the campsite or was pronounced dead at the hospital. 

    After her death, the Nevada County Coroner’s Office ruled that the cause was an accident caused by cocaine and ethanol intoxication. 

    “Emma loved the city life and she also loved the countryside, particularly the Sierra Nevada and Teton mountains,” her obituary read. “One of her favorite weekend getaways was the Yuba River. It was along that river where Emma died of an apparent seizure while camping with friends near Purdon Crossing.”

    Emma and Julie Louis-Dreyfus are both the daughters of deceased billionaire William Louis-Dreyfus, who had an estimated wealth of $3.4 billion when he died in 2016. Control of Emma Louis-Dreyfus’ estate, estimated to be worth $23 million, was awarded to her mother. 

    Julia Louis-Dreyfus was mentioned in Emma’s obituary as a surviving family member, but the star did not publicly comment on her sister’s death.

    The DailyMail reported that Julia was promoting Veep on social media just two days after Emma’s death, suggesting that the sisters were not close.

    However, Emma’s obituary read “Emma adored children, especially her niece and nephews,” which presumably includes Julia’s two sons. 

    Emma seems to have had plans to use her wealth to invest in California’s legal marijuana industry. In July, she set up a company called Etta Duane Industries in order to develop property for marijuana production. She reportedly invested $4.5 million in the venture, with a business partner investing $5,000. 

    Outside of that business venture, Emma worked as a social worker. She was born and raised in New York, and graduated from Brown University with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology before completing a Masters in Social Welfare degree in 2002 from the University of California, Berkeley. She was a bilingual therapist who was fluent in Spanish, and recently completed a certificate in healing childhood trauma 

    “In her career, Emma was a clinical social worker and family therapist, a calling that included child advocacy, community activism, training and supervision,” her obituary read.

    View the original article at thefix.com