This week we had a visit from our WSU Murrow Fellow in Newport, Sophia Mattice-Aldous. She and Aaron Hedge discussed her deeply-reported piece on the landscape of opioid overdose in the rural areas of North Idaho and Northwest Washington, highlighted by the tragic story of Jasmine Martin, a 23-year-old who died from an overdose in 2024 while trying to get sober. The conversation delves into the availability of recovery resources, stigmas surrounding addiction, and the complexities of fentanyl use in small communities. Despite their grief, Jasmine's family, particularly her mother Tish and sister Antonia, are actively working to raise awareness and improve access to life-saving measures like Narcan.

Read the story here.