Wednesday is National Fentanyl Awareness Day, and one local mother said it’s her mission to make sure no one else dies from an accidental overdose like her 18-year-old son did.

Michelle Leopold and her husband own six hardware stores throughout the Bay Area. On Tuesday, she distributed Narcan and fentanyl testing kits at her Ace Hardware store in Antioch.

“As you know, Jeff and I place a lot of importance on educating all of our team members,” she said under a pop-up tent outside the store, where tables are filled with information, photos and overdose recovery kits.

This is a personal matter for them. Trevor Leopold, Her son died of an accidental overdose of fentanyl in 2019.

“Four and a half years ago, nobody talked about fentanyl. Nobody knew what fentanyl was,” Leopold said.

He was a freshman at Sonoma State University at the time and took a pill that he thought was an oxycodone pill, but which contained so much fentanyl that it was fatal.

“You should never expect your child to die before you,” said Leopold.

That’s why she’s so concerned about raising awareness and has partnered with the Contra Costa County Meds Coalition to distribute the bailout packages at three of their hardware stores.

Gretchen Isenhoff was one of the first interested parties.

“I just lost a loved one, my son’s father. He died alone in his hotel room in the Tenderloin,” she said.

Isenhoff said he died of a fentanyl overdose and she wanted to have Narcan on hand in case she ever saw someone in crisis.

“We have a community, and that community can be anywhere, and we just need to look after each other,” she said.

Michelle Leopold also organized the event to train the more than 150 store employees.

“If they see an overdose and have Narcan, they know how to use it. And sometimes that can even happen in our parking lots,” she said.

She said these events give her a sense of purpose and comfort in knowing she is making a difference to others.

“That’s really the main reason I’m speaking out: I want to prevent other parents from having to bury their child. It’s the worst thing in the world,” she said.

Three more training courses are planned in Leopold’s branches by the end of the month. Everyone is welcome to take part.

• Oakland: Wednesday, August 21, 12-1pm – Laurel Ace
• San Francisco: Wednesday, August 28, 12-1pm – Standard 5&10 Ace
• San Rafael: Saturday, August 31, 12pm-1pm – Marin Ace