OREGON CITY, Ore. — Michele Stroh held up a candle at Chapin Park in Oregon City on Tuesday. It's the same place where her son, Keaton, received a pill that ended up killing him four years ago.
He met a friend who gave him three pills. He took what he believed to be an Oxycontin pill.
"The investigation said that they were Oxycontin, but the medical examiner came back and said it was pure fentanyl. And he was killed instantly," Stroh said.
He was 25 years old when he died in 2020.
Stroh organized a vigil at the park Tuesday evening, which marked the third National Fentanyl Awareness Day. Some parents — who once believed the drug would never impact them — now wish to convince other families and young people of just how pervasive and dangerous the drug can be.
"He's with me all the time, and he's going to help me have more strength to keep going out there and fighting the fight to save these other kids," Stroh said.
Cliff Richardson lost his son, Tyson, to an overdose. On Dec. 30, 2022, officers showed up to Richardson's home and told him that his son died from a fentanyl overdose.
"He had just gotten back from boot camp. He was supposed to go Jan. 4 to his duty station," Richardson said. "He made a bad decision and got high one more time. One pill, one time."
Richardson, like Stroh, hopes to spread awareness and understanding.
"I come and talk about my son in hopes that one person might hear a message, one parent might have an understanding of, 'Hey, I need to be more open with my kids, you know it could happen to my kids,'" Richardson said.
In sharing their message, these parents hope to create a community where those experiencing grief can lean on one another for support.
"I'd love to see this (event) be huge. More people come in understanding. Take the shame away. There's no shame in this. Our kids were amazing," Stroh said.