MANKATO — In 2021, tragedy struck the family of 21-year-old Travis Gustavson when he died of a fentanyl overdose at his Mankato home.
“He was looking for pills … oxycodone, but the guys said, ‘I have heroin and that’s better,’” said Nancy Sack, Travis’ grandmother. “Travis died because it wasn’t just heroine; it had fentanyl in it, too.”
Sack is one of the founders of the Travis Gustavson Foundation, an organization dedicated to raising awareness about the dangers of fentanyl in southern Minnesota.
“I promised Travis when we buried him that his grandma was going to do everything she could to make sure that this doesn’t happen anymore,” Sack said. “That’s pretty much what my whole family has been doing. We’re devoted (to it).”
Sack said the fight to bring more awareness to this issue has been a long one, but they’ve had their fair share of successes.
“We have accomplished a lot. Our family, we just do everything we can,” she said. “We just wish that maybe some of the government places would do stuff, too. … There’s still people out there that don’t know what’s going on with this epidemic.”
In 2023 in Blue Earth County alone, there were about 11 deaths from synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl, per 100,000 people, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. Around 75% of those deaths were men and about 77% of those total deaths were people younger than 35.
In an effort to stop those deaths, Gustavson’s family began hosting an annual fentanyl poisoning and substance overdose awareness and prevention event in 2022. That event will now see its fourth iteration from noon-3 p.m. Sunday at Ray Erlandson Park.
There will be various informational booths, banners showcasing some of those who have lost their lives to fentanyl and more. Mankato Mayor Najwa Massad will read a proclamation “to acknowledge the loss of life due to fentanyl.”
Gustavson’s family also plans to hand out Narcan kits free of charge to the community. It’s something they said could save a life in a moment of crisis.
“We didn’t know about Narcan. … If we could have had Narcan in his bathroom, he might have been able to save his life,” Sack said.
The event also will feature speakers from the Drug Enforcement Administration and other agencies.
Sack said the events have been largely successful, and more people each year are learning about the dangers of synthetic opioids.
“Everybody needs to know about the fentanyl poisonings … because kids are still dying,” she said. “We’re not, by any means, over this at all.”
One aim the events have is to get information into the hands of families with young children, with Sack theorizing that if kids have an understanding of the dangers from a young age, they may be more equipped to save themselves later. That’s because, as with many things, Sack believes the best way to start solving the epidemic is bringing it into the light.
“We go out into the community and spread the word. You can’t ignore it. It’s not going to go away if we just ignore it. That’s not going to happen.”