VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Robert Feito remembers how life used to be.
"I'm never shy to tell anybody, when I was out there, my only mission was dying — if I had a preferred outcome it was to die — everyday."
That was the nightmare of being trapped in a heroin addiction. The Virginia Beach native recalls his stubborn refusal to listen to professionals who tried to help get clean. It's why, seven and half years later, he's a certified peer recovery specialist in his home city.
Recovered and ready to help others.
"Misery is not the only option that we have — that it's very scary to move forward and live life, maybe in unfamiliar territory that we've ever experienced but there's a lot of beauty and joy in finding our way through life as adults even if we feel like we might be getting too late of a start."
Feito will join several counselors, peer specialists, clinicians and more at Champions for Change, an opioid awareness event on September 28th in Virginia Beach at the Sports Center on 19th Street. It's sponsored by Virginia Beach Human Services.
"I think a lot of parents are just not aware that their kids are struggling with some sort of opioid addiction," said Angela Davis, a Virginia Beach Behavioral Health and Wellness educator.
The awareness event will have roughly 30 vendors to provide information on available resources and education. There will be break-out sessions on opioid recovery and prevention.
The stories Virginia Beach leaders hear from middle and high school students about their exposure to opioids are alarming.
"A lot of them also are reporting they're getting them from, they call them their plugs and these are their drug dealers, they don't really see or understand the long term ramifications of what they're doing of what they are putting into their system," Davis said. "I like to tell parents that their friendly neighborhood drug dealers are not on the street corners anymore. They're on their kids' phones. They're on their social media and they're targeting our kids' vulnerability."
Another serious concern is the proliferation of opioid pills that look like candy that often contain fentanyl. According to the DEA, 42% of pills tested for fentanyl contained at least 2 mg of fentanyl which is considered a lethal dose.
According to the state health department, Virginia Beach has had 912 opioid overdose deaths since 2007. That includes 14 in the first quarter of this year. 110 people died form overdoses in 2023.