Kate’s Charity Spotlight: Victoria’s Voice Foundation

The Why
David & Jackie Siegel lost their beautiful daughter Victoria to a drug overdose on June 6, 2015; she was only 18. This tragedy inspired the creation of Victoria’s Voice Foundation, which shines a light on the opioid crisis. Through Victoria’s Voice Foundation, the Siegel family is bringing this matter to the national stage, championing specific ways we can reduce drug experimentation, addiction and overdose, changing the reality of drug addiction in our country. Their singular mission is saving lives so our future generation is not lost. We are honored to donate to this dynamic charity

What is the U.S. Opioid Epidemic?
1. In the late 1990s, pharmaceutical companies reassured the medical community that patients would not become addicted to opioid pain relievers and healthcare providers began to prescribe them at greater rates.
2. Increased prescription of opioid medications led to widespread misuse of both prescription and non-prescription opioids before it became clear that these medications could indeed be highly addictive.

The Crisis
The scope of the drug-abuse issue is inescapable and touches everyone in our country. An estimated 24.6 million Americans, age 12 or older, have used an illicit drug in the past month. This epidemic is particularly detrimental to the lives of our children. Most people use drugs for the first time as teens. Every day, more than 3,600 kids under 18 try an illicit drug for the first time. This statistic is terrifying. In 2014, more than 47,000 Americans died from an overdose, driven by a surge in prescription painkiller (opioid) and heroin abuse. Since 2000, the overdose death rate from opioids has increased a staggering 200 percent.

The Action
Victoria’s Voice Foundation is taking aim at reducing drug experimentation, addiction and overdose death by supporting:
1. Legislation to encourage locking up prescription medications. Fifty-three percent of kids who use illicit prescription drugs get them out of a relative’s or friend’s medicine cabinet.
2. Legislation for the co-prescription of naloxone every time an opiate painkiller is prescribed. Naloxone is a completely safe opiate-reversal drug that can pull someone out of an overdose state—even on the verge of death—into an immediate withdrawal. It is life-saving and non-addictive. We believe this antidote to death should be carried by every first responder and made available through every university and college.
3. Implementation of a policy platform for random drug testing in partnership with educational institutions.

Addiction is a baffling and cunning disease that touches just about every family in this country. This book brings to life the very personal struggles faced by those battling addiction and the impact it has on their families. By sharing Victoria's diary entries with the public, David and Jackie Siegel are preserving their daughter's wishes and dreams. Victoria’s Voice Foundation coupled with this book provide important resources to a public in crisis. Kate’s Island Shop is honored to help be the change.