National Naloxone Awareness Day: Remarks from Sheriff Dennis Lemma

“It is truly an honor to be with all of you for the Fourth Annual National Naloxone Awareness Day.

I want to begin by thanking the Siegel family and the entire Victoria’s Voice team for their leadership and commitment to this mission.

I also want to thank Senator Rick Scott, our federal partners, treatment professionals, recovery advocates, first responders, community leaders, and everyone who has made the time to be here today.

Over the years, I have had the privilege of serving on the Board of Victoria’s Voice, and every time we gather for this event, I find myself reflecting on how much this movement has grown.

What started as one family’s determination to ensure that Victoria’s life would continue to make a difference has become a national effort to educate families, influence policy, and save lives.

That growth happened because people were willing to turn unimaginable loss into meaningful action.

I had the privilege of knowing David Siegel through this work, and one of the things I admired most about him was his ability to stay focused on people.

While others might have focused solely on statistics, policy debates, or headlines, David never lost sight of the individuals and families at the center of this crisis.

He understood that behind every overdose was a son, a daughter, a parent, a sibling, a friend, or a neighbor whose life mattered.

That perspective helped shape Victoria’s Voice from the very beginning, and I believe it remains one of the organization’s greatest strengths today.

One of the things I have come to appreciate most about Victoria’s Voice is that it has never been content with simply raising awareness.

Awareness is important, but awareness alone does not change outcomes.

What has always impressed me about this organization is its commitment to turning awareness into action.

Whether it is educating young people before they are exposed to dangerous substances, supporting families searching for answers, expanding access to life-saving resources, or advocating for meaningful policy changes, Victoria’s Voice has consistently focused on what can be done to make a difference.

That philosophy is one of the reasons National Naloxone Awareness Day matters so much.

At its core, naloxone represents action.

It represents the ability to intervene during a moment of crisis and create an opportunity where one did not exist moments earlier.

It allows a parent, a friend, a teacher, a law enforcement officer, a firefighter, a paramedic, or even a complete stranger to step forward and save a life.

As a sheriff, I have seen firsthand the devastation that fentanyl and substance use disorder have brought into our communities.

• I have met parents who have lost children.
• I have met children who have lost parents.
• I have stood with families experiencing some of the most difficult moments imaginable.

Those experiences stay with you.

But I have also witnessed something else.

• I have seen individuals who survived an overdose enter recovery and completely transform their lives.
• I have seen people reconnect with their families, return to work, become productive members of their communities, and help others find the same path forward.
• I have seen hope restored in situations where many people believed hope no longer existed.

Those experiences have reinforced something I believe very strongly: people should never be defined solely by the worst moment of their lives.

That belief has shaped much of the work we have undertaken in Seminole County.

Several years ago, we launched the Seminole Collaborative Opioid Response Effort, known as SCORE.

The premise was straightforward: if we wanted different outcomes, we needed a different approach.

The opioid epidemic is not simply a public safety challenge. It is also a public health, family, and community challenge.

Challenges of that magnitude require collaboration.

One of the lessons we learned early on was that communities cannot choose between prevention, treatment, and enforcement.

Lasting progress requires all three.

• We have a responsibility to educate young people before experimentation turns into addiction.
• We have a responsibility to connect individuals struggling with substance use disorder to treatment and recovery resources.
• And we have a responsibility to aggressively pursue the traffickers who profit from distributing deadly substances like fentanyl in our communities.

Those efforts are producing results.

Since launching SCORE, Seminole County has experienced significant reductions in both overdoses and overdose deaths.

While we are encouraged by that progress, we also recognize that there is still much work to be done.

Every life lost is one too many, and every family affected by addiction deserves our continued commitment.

That is why days like today remain so important.

Sometimes discussions about naloxone become centered on policy, legislation, or public debate.

While those conversations certainly matter, I think there is value in remembering something much simpler.

For first responders, naloxone is a tool.

Just as firefighters and paramedics carry equipment that helps them save lives, naloxone has become an important tool that allows us to respond when every second matters.

More importantly, it creates an opportunity for treatment, recovery, healing, and ultimately a different path forward.

That is why this day matters.

It is not simply because naloxone reverses overdoses.

• It matters because it represents the belief that people deserve another chance.
• It represents the belief that recovery is possible.
• It holds that communities are stronger when they come together to confront difficult challenges rather than accept them as inevitable.

As we gather today, I hope we recognize the progress that has been made.

Conversations that once happened in silence are now taking place in communities across the country.

Partnerships that once seemed unlikely are now helping save lives every day.

Because of organizations like Victoria’s Voice, committed leaders like Senator Scott, dedicated professionals across healthcare, law enforcement, education, and recovery services, and families willing to share their stories, we are moving in the right direction.

The opioid crisis did not emerge overnight, and it will not disappear overnight.

But I remain optimistic because I have seen what is possible when people refuse to give up.

• I have seen communities come together.
• I have seen lives saved.
• I have seen recovery happen.
• And I have seen hope restored.

That hope is what brought us here today.

It is what inspired David and Jackie to turn tragedy into purpose.

It is what continues to drive the mission of Victoria’s Voice.

And it is what should continue to guide all of us as we move forward.

Thank you for your partnership, your commitment to this cause, and the lives you continue to impact every single day.

God bless you all. ” – Sheriff Dennis Lemma