TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — For Sharon Martin Hill, she's ready for the rise in Fentanyl-related overdoses in Gadsden County to stop.
"It's a personal thing, because one of my relatives got ahold of this illegal drug," said Martin Hill.
Martin Hill says one of her close family members survived an overdose this week in the county.
"It should of took her ought, but God graced her and he brought her through it," said Martin Hill.
She was just one of 16 overdoses the county has seen this week. The County has also seen around nine deaths, spanning from Chattahoochee, Gretna, Quincy and Havana.
Martin Hill says she feels for the families in the county that have felt loss over this past week.
"My heart goes out to the families, because pretty much everyone that passed and some of them that got injured with this illegal drugs, I knew that family, I knew them personally," said Martin Hill.
Dozens of people, also wanting to see action, also showed up to the special prayer service in front of the Gadsden County Courthouse to mourn those lost in the past week.
"If we can come together as Christians and a community, we can defeat this enemy," said Gadsden County Sheriff's Office Chaplain Jimmy Salters.
Salters believes that the community can be strengthened through faith and prayer... saying something needs to be done to stop the rise in deaths.
"We've come to talk about the preservation of life. Nobody has the authority to take life but God, so we're praying for that but also praying for the apprehension of those bringing illegal drugs into our community," said Salters.
Pastor Tracey Stallworth focused on healing, saying that action from the community will come in time.
"People need help," said Stallworth. "People are in the shadows, they're dying. People have depression, they may have some other things going on, they may be hungry and my thing is this. If you see something, expose it."
