Experts call for better addiction treatment options on International Overdose Awareness Day

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- Thursday was International Overdose Awareness Day.

Action News spoke with two mothers who lost their sons to Fentanyl overdoses, and both do outreach work with Parents and Addicts in Need or P.A.I.N.

Elaine Hudson's son, Frankie, died three years ago after taking a pill he thought was Xanax.

It was actually packed with six times the lethal dose of Fentanyl.

"Not a day goes by that I don't cry. Some days are worse, but I miss him," said Hudson.

Pamela Smith's son, Jackson, started taking pills when he moved to LA for school.

"His roommates called and said you need to get him home because he's going to kill himself with the amount of alcohol and pills," said Smith.

She brought him back to Fresno and begged him to get help.

"He finally agreed in March 2016, and he went to the Kaiser outpatient. He started looking better in March, April, and May. Then, at the beginning of June, he wasn't looking so good," said Smith.

He died in July of 2016 after taking a pill he thought was Oxycodone that was actually laced with a deadly dose of Fentanyl.

It's why she says she knows there's a difference between outpatient and inpatient treatment.

"A lot of times, calling a non-private treatment center, there's not anybody there answering the phones. The phone will ring, and voicemail will answer to get back to them at a later time usually, an addict will hang up the phone and quit," said Flindt Andersen, founder and president of P.A.I.N.

Many insurance companies are also limiting the time they'll cover for a patient to stay in a treatment facility.

"We're seeing an average of 17 to 20 days for treatment instead of the 28 days, and we know it's a 60 to 90 day journey just to begin with," said Andersen.

He said there needs to be a more uniform system between private and public facilities. That's likely going to take an act of the legislature to get that done.

"It's going to take a change in the private and public side of this, by those lawmakers, to get everybody on the same page in order to get people the help that they need," said Andersen.

You can learn more about the services P.A.I.N offers by visiting its website.

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