"To me Selma is a peaceful small town so when something like this does occur it does bring a lot of attention," says Valerie Reina, Selma Organizer.
Just last month, at only 15-years-old, Jeremiah Padilla overdosed on Fentanyl. His parents set up a banner of their late son at the rally with a hope to send a powerful message.
"It's in our city. It's on our block. It's in our front yard. And, unfortunately for us, it's in our house. It hits home literally," says Fabian Padilla, Jeremiah's father.
A loving kid, Jerimiah loved to go out to eat and play with his siblings. A nightmare his mom Brittney says could've been prevented, she says knew her son had an addiction, tried to get help, but was failed by the system.
"We shouldn't be afraid to say, hey look we need help. Hey, look my kid is struggling. I'm struggling. We need help. Resources shouldn't be that hard. That was something we found. We were going in circles. You call this number, okay they transferred to the next person, okay to the next person, and I got to the point where we were realizing in order to get him health treatment, we were going to have to choose between paying our mortgage or treating our son because it's so expensive and so limited," says Brittney Padilla, Jeremiah's Mother.
Jerimah's death comes after the death of Emily Santos, who also overdosed on fentanyl at only 19-years-old last summer. A story her friend Valerie Reina, who organized the rally, says was pushed aside.
"She was just starting her life. She didn't get the opportunity to have a career, stuff like that takes a toll on you," says Reina.
Last year alone, Fresno County saw 80 fentanyl overdose deaths, and two so far this year as of late February.
Too many for valley outreach group P.A.I.N. or Parents and Addicts in Need. Group founder, and former addict, Flindt Anderson says as a community we can't let the topic leave the conversation.
"Fentanyl is here it's here to stay. It's not going anywhere. It has absolutely no boundaries. I don't care where you come from what your faith is or color. This drug is an epidemic," says Flindt Anderson, P.A.I.N Founder and President.
Though rocked by these tragedies, the town of only 25 thousand is using the pain to fuel a movement.
"We are small enough as a city to be a big family, so when you lose a member of your family, it hurts it's personal and it's painful and we just know that we can prevent this in the future," says Mayor Scott Robertson, City of Selma.
In light of this demonstration, the mayor and members of the city council plan to organize community town hall meetings and invited concerned residents to attend the next council meeting to raise their concerns.
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