Parents, loved ones remember those lost to fatal drug overdoses

Jun 09, 2023

HARRISBURG — Hundreds of photographs of young men and women, some in frames and from when they were young boys and girls, lined the steps Thursday outside the main entrance of the Pennsylvania State Capitol.

Each served as a reminder on International Overdose Awareness Day of the continued loss of life to drug addiction — 5,200 dead in Pennsylvania and 109,000 dead nationwide in 2022.

Diana Smeltzer, of York, pointed to a shadow box containing a photo of her two sons when they were children.

One is Gavin Weaver.

The boy was bright and sweet, she said, not one to forget a birthday; wouldn’t forget to call on Mother’s Day. He told his mom he’d be a millionaire one day, and she didn’t doubt it. She couldn’t know then that he’d die of an overdose at age 26. That was nearly nine years ago. Some of his ashes are inside a tiny urn kept in the shadow box.

The other boy in the photo is Gavin’s younger brother, Blake Weaver.

Smeltzer said he, too, struggles with addiction. He’s in prison now awaiting release in December. She’s waiting to see him in person for the first time in four-and-a-half years. She wants a hug.

“Some days I feel like I lost two of them because of him being away. The sad thing is, sometimes I think it’s so much better when he’s inside because he’s not doing anything in that situation,” Smeltzer said.

A careful walk through the mementos and photo boards of smiling faces spread across the steps, faces left to bittersweet memories, led to four photos of Kayla Nevirauskas.

Her mother, Paula Kelcourse, of Harrisburg, agreed what the photos made clear — she was beautiful.

“She is forever 30,” Kelcourse said in a thick New England accent.

Fentanyl killed Nevirauskas in 2018, her mother said. She left behind a 7-year-old daughter. Kelcourse said she’s now raising her granddaughter, the love of her life.

Kelcourse said she moved to the Harrisburg area to help Kayla with her newborn daughter. Relapse followed, which Kelcourse said was her daughter’s 13th. She feared what she knew would come.

Those memories are painful. Not all are. She talked of her daughter at her best. Kayla was caring and compassionate, the type to buy food only to share with the homeless. Kelcourse said her smile and laugh would warm anyone’s heart. She worked in at-home care and was an animal lover.

Kelcourse turned and glanced at the Capitol steps. The number of photos signaled she was hardly alone in pain and loss.

“It’s awful. It’s frightening. Oh my God, this breaks my heart just looking at this; all these kids. Every addict is someone’s child, someone’s mother, someone’s sister,” Kelcourse said.

“It’s a nightmare living as an addict, and for us living with them. You know what? I would take her back right now, even addicted,” she said, snapping her fingers, “just like that.”

Barry Aller was also struck by how many young adults were being remembered in death. Among those was his daughter, Desire’e Aller. He and his wife, Andrea, Desire’e’s mother, wore their daughter’s photo on their T-shirts.

A rash of fatal overdoses occurred in the Pittsburgh area in January 2014, caused by heroin laced with fentanyl. Desire’e counted among the victims. She was 30.

Desire’e was a dancer, jazz and ballet. She was an honors student in high school. She loved the outdoors. She was daring; a character.

“Center of attention,” Barry said.

“She was just bouncy. She was never down in the dumps,” Andrea said.

The Allers said they felt alone at the time of Desire'e's death. That hasn’t changed. They still feel alone, abandoned even. Family and friends left their lives. They can’t deal with the fallout, the Allers said.

They each called for stricter enforcement and prosecution of high-level drug dealers, not those peddling on the street.

And, they haven’t forgotten what they see as a lack of accountability for a former judge in their home county, Washington County.

Paul Pozonsky was sentenced in 2015 to 30 days in jail plus probation for stealing and using cocaine from court evidence, according to media reports at the time. He founded the county’s drug court program. Desire’e was among its members.

Where the Allers find hope, they said, is in their five grandchildren. One is Desire’e’s child who is being raised by their middle daughter.

Thursday’s overdose awareness event was put on by Team Sharing Inc., a support network of parents and loved ones of overdose victims. Anyone seeking treatment for substance use disorder is encouraged to call 1-800-662-HELP (4357), Pennsylvania’s hotline for support services. Additional resources including links to a live chat for support are available at www.ddap.pa.gov/Pages/Find-Treatment.aspx.

The Shapiro Administration this week highlighted success in Pennsylvania in saving lives. More than 24,000 opioid overdoses were reversed since the Naloxone for First Responders Program began in 2017.

The Administration announced the launch of the PA Overdose Prevention Program, intended to help individuals and organizations seek out multiple formulations of naloxone and other harm reduction supplies including test strips for fentanyl and xylazine.

On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration announced Pennsylvania will receive $3,299,862 to aid rural communities in responding to the overdose risk from fentanyl and other opioids.

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