AUSTIN, Texas — Forever 24 is how Christian Webb will remember his son Sam, who was one of triplets and working as an electrician.
“He got involved with the drugs, the opiates at his workplace,” Webb said. “He told me that, ‘Dad, I just wish I’d never taken that first pill,’ and that really breaks your heart.
A part of Webb’s heart is now gone, after Sam bought an opiate off the internet which contained fentanyl. Sam lost his life in June 2024.
“He’s going to miss all the marriages, and the kids and all the other stuff that you do in life,” Webb said. “If only I could have done something to help, to keep him from going down that path, I would have done anything in the world for him.”
Webb is now helping other families by working with Texas Against Fentanyl, a nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness.
His goal is to fill every home and public place with Narcan, a drug that reverses an overdose.
Outreach efforts like these are why Stephen White, the assistant chief of Austin-Travis County EMS (ATCEMS) believes they are starting to see a decline in opioid overdoses.
“We’ve distributed over 3500 Narcan kits and we’re looking to double that number in 2025,” White said.
This is coming after Travis County led the state in opioid-related deaths for years. The Austin area saw its peak in overdoses in September 2023, mostly because of fentanyl.
In January 2024, EMS was averaging a little over 100 opioid calls a month. In January 2025, they ran about 50.
“So we’ve cut that number in half inside of a year,” White said.
While White is seeing hope behind those numbers, Webb is making sure he still does something about this crisis.
“That doesn’t mean the problem’s gone. It just means that we’re successful in some little way,” Webb said. “Fentanyl is extremely addictive, extremely addictive and you just can’t get involved with it at all.”
For more resources on preventing an overdose, visit this link.