Growing up in Olney, Maryland, Seth Winter was always outside, and it was common to find him either skateboarding or riding dirt bikes with friends, according to his mom, Wendy Winter.
“Seth was a really funny, charismatic person,” Winter said, adding that he was a truly kind soul who would go out of his way to help others.
Seth’s young life would be tragically cut short in April 2020 after a fatal fentanyl overdose. He was only 20 years old.
Winter said her son began using marijuana in the ninth grade, and transitioned to opioid use after high school as a way she believed to cope with the loss of two friends to crashes.
“I think he was self-medicating, from the trauma of the loss of his two friends, and then opioids, and ultimately, he overdosed twice, before he actually passed away,” she said.
The opioid overdose reversal drug Narcan would save Winter’s life twice. However, he died during his third overdose from taking drugs laced with fentanyl in a car with another person who was both drunk and high, according to his mother.
“That guy didn’t do anything. Didn’t call 911. Nothing,” Winter said.
For three years after his death, Winter said the family had a hard time speaking about what happened to Seth, but now they are in hopes of saving other lives and protecting other parents from pain they’ve endured.
“It’s a horrible, painful, lifelong sentence that we’re left with,” Winter said.
Winter is a member of an organization called S.O.U.L, which stands for Surviving Our Ultimate Loss.
With the group, Winter speaks with school kids and families about spotting and helping loved ones struggling with a substance use disorder.
“He just got very kind of lethargic and depressed,” she recalls with her son, when she’d see him after he was using drugs.
Winter said there are also the difficult discussions and decisions for parents when trying to help a child suffering from addiction.
“We talked a lot while we were trying to work with Seth, about establishing boundaries versus enabling him. And it’s a very complex thing when you’re dealing with your loved one,” Winter said.
Winter said one important thing for everyone to remember is substance use is not a moral failure.
“It’s a disease,” Winter said. “Addiction is a disease.”
With a goal of saving others, Winter’s family started the Seth J. Winter Memorial Foundation, which raises money to help young adults seeking help to recover from their addiction.
The foundation will hold a memorial walk on June 4 at 10 a.m. at the Lake Needwood Trails in Rock Creek Regional Park. The foundation will also be collecting gently used shoes, which will be given to recovery centers.
