Drug awareness at Cardinals game

ST. LOUIS, Missouri (First Alert 4) – Between calls for balls and strikes, fans heard important drug awareness messages at the St. Louis Cardinals game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday.

August is Overdose Awareness Month. Sabrina Wipfler is a member of a drug education group called Enough Is Enough. Wipfler's 20-year-old nephew died of an overdose.

“It's just sad and depressing. Every day you hear about more losses. This just has to stop,” she said.

The group was invited to hold a pre-game memorial service for victims of the opioid crisis. Relatives of 250 people who have died from overdoses came from 12 states to attend.

Lisa Tyler flew in from Arizona for the game. Her son Tyler Champagne died in 2022 at the age of 27.

“We can't save them, but we can save someone else. Just the awareness of that is so important to me,” she said.

Announcements were made throughout the game and at one point the crowd was asked to stand to raise awareness about drugs, similar to the Stand Up To Cancer campaign.

You may never have heard of Enough Is Enough, but you may have seen their work. Last year, the group began putting up billboards along Interstate 70 in the Warrenton area that feature photos of people who have died from overdoses. The group now has 11 billboards.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recently reported a decline in overdose deaths between 2022 and 2023. The agency expects overdose deaths in Missouri and Illinois to decline this year.

Lisa Jones flew in from New York for the game's events. Her daughter, Lisha Skeldon, was 28 when she died in 2021. Jones says awareness is key to saving lives.

“You have to know, you have to be aware. If you are not aware, you will not be able to stop the problem,” she said.

Wipfler said her group will continue to use billboards and other methods to commemorate the lives lost and raise awareness of the opioid crisis.

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