SIOUX FALLS, SD (KELO) — A former KELOLAND News anchor is turning a personal tragedy into a mission to help others.
Angela Kennecke lost her 21-year-old daughter Emily to a fentanyl overdose in 2018. Following Emily’s death, Angela started a non-profit to assist other families struggling with the heartache of addiction.
A dedicated staff striving to make a difference in the community.
“We’re doing everything we can. We’re small but mighty. We’re continuing to grow,” Emily’s Hope founder Angela Kennecke said.
But Kennecke is, in some ways, troubled that her non-profit is growing, because it means so many more people are hurting and in need of help.
“We cannot afford to lose an entire generation. We’re losing the gifts they could have given to the world,” Kennecke said.
Such are the stakes at Emily’s Hope. Helping a lost generation gripped by addiction by promoting prevention and treatment.
“Fentanyl is the number-one killer of people ages 18 to 45 and we have to end this,” Kennecke said.
Emily’s Hope provides substance abuse prevention lessons to students in five states. Reaching them early is important.
“So we really need to start teaching kids at a young age, who’s a trusted adult, the difference between medication versus candy, what substances do the brain at age-appropriate ways,” Kennecke said.
Emily’s Hope also provides treatment scholarships for people struggling with addiction and follow-up help to those who’ve overdosed.
“We know if we can get to someone who survives an overdose and get them the help they need, they’re less likely to overdose and die,” Kennecke said.
Emily’s Hope also makes the medicine Naloxone available to the public for free in order to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.
“We’ve had private businesses and now the City of Sioux Falls is allowing us to put our Naloxone distribution boxes in one of their buildings,” Kennecke said.
Angela’s work in addiction prevention has gained national attention. In August, the White House invited her to take part in a roundtable to discuss strategies in helping people who are struggling.
“It was an honor to go to the White House and to take part in that and I truly hope that the message is heard all across the country. This is a non-partisan issue. It is going to take everybody coming together to try and put a big dent in stopping these deaths and decreasing them, so we don’t have them at all anymore, because we are losing young people at record rates,” Kennecke said.
Emily’s Hope also offers support to relatives grieving the overdose death of a loved one.
“We really need to support these families because it’s tough, it’s really tough to lose someone in this way,” Kennecke said.
Angela knows that pain all too well.
“She was very talented. Talented artist. A gifted athlete, a gifted student. A very gregarious person, very outgoing, just a wonderful kid and I miss her every day,” Kennecke said.
Her daughter Emily died of a fentanyl overdose at the age of 21.
“I knew something was wrong with my daughter and I knew that she needed help and we were working with an interventionist and we were 3 days away from holding that intervention when she died,” Kennecke said.
Kennecke’s advocacy for families who are coping with addiction issues also provides an emotional outlet for a mother who’s still grieving the loss of her daughter.
“It’s a place for me to put my grief. Losing a child is the worst thing that can happen to a parent and Emily’s Hope, the work that we do is a way for me to channel my grief for good,” Kennecke said.
A big focus of Emily’s Hope is overcoming the stigma attached to addiction. Shame often keeps people from seeking the help they need. That’s why Angela shares her story of the daughter she lost so other families won’t have to suffer the same heartbreak.
“Emily was such a very kind and sensitive soul. She cared about people and I know that she would want me to do whatever I could to protect young people and to save their lives,” Kennecke said.
Angela also plans to lobby next year’s legislature to update and refine Naloxone laws now that the opioid antidote is available over-the-counter.
