“American families struggling with opioid addiction need meaningful action. President Trump promised he’d come to the aid of communities ravaged by this crisis, but so far he’s done nothing for them. In fact, he’s making it worse,” said DNC spokesperson Mandy McClure. “Despite declaring this epidemic a public health emergency, Trump provided no additional funding and continued to push dangerous policies that would hurt communities across the country. Every day, the opioid epidemic takes more than 175 lives, including an average of 11 Ohioans each day alone. While Trump and Republicans like Mike DeWine have shown that they do not intend to take this crisis seriously, Democrats will keep fighting for a budget that expands access to opioid addiction treatment and provides more resources to Americans affected by this national crisis.”

Columbus Dispatch: Opioid addiction kills 9 in extended family, pushing Pickerington couple to activism

Standing beside the casket of her nephew, Diana Yoder put her arm around the deceased’s 29-year-old son.

An opioid overdose had killed the father, and Yoder knew that the son, too, had an addiction.

“You really need to get help,” she told him. “Please call me. Let me help you.”

Ten days later, he was dead.

The two men are among nine family members Yoder has lost to opioid addiction.

Yoder has had enough of the heartache as nieces, nephews and a cousin all lost their battles with addiction.

She and her husband, Mike, are fighting back by co-chairing the new Ohio chapter of the Addiction Policy Forum, a nonprofit group in Washington, D.C., that seeks to improve awareness, programming and policy related to addiction issues.

“It has become a mission for us,” Diana Yoder said. “We don’t want to go to any more funerals.”

An average of 11 Ohioans die each day from unintentional drug overdoses, and 86 percent of them were using opioids such as prescription pain medications, heroin or the far more potent fentanyl and carfentanil.

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