{"id":146675,"date":"2023-11-20T14:50:00","date_gmt":"2023-11-20T19:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/rwddev\/?p=146675"},"modified":"2023-11-20T20:13:10","modified_gmt":"2023-11-21T01:13:10","slug":"raso-family-continues-fundraiser-in-their-sons-name-to-help-others","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/raso-family-continues-fundraiser-in-their-sons-name-to-help-others\/","title":{"rendered":"Raso family continues fundraiser in their son’s memory"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It\u2019s been five years since the Rasos had to endure an extremely tragic and painful event in their life\u2014finding their son unresponsive, not breathing, and with no pulse. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That was the situation Angelo and Helen Raso found themselves in on August 1, 2018, at their Bella Lake home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their son, Johnny, 36, had overdosed on fentanyl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First responders from the Huntsville\/Lake of Bays Fire Department\u2019s Station 30, on Limberlost Road, got the call. When they arrived, there was nothing they could do to revive Johnny. He had died sometime in the night. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It was an emotional experience because it was one of the first calls that I had attended when there was a loss of life,” recalled Steve Markham, a lieutenant with the fire department who also provides peer support for Station 30. He was one of the first responders who attended the call at the Raso home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said the Rasos have found a way to keep the memory of their son alive by holding annual horseshoe tournament fundraisers and they donated the funds to the fire department. “The money goes to good use for training for us for mental health and to help the members when we are exposed to these types of calls so it’s really good,” said Markham. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Angelo Raso was at the Limberlost Station on November 17 to present a $5,000 cheque. He said more needs to be done to stem the tide of illegal opioids making their way into the country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I believe that our Ontario and the Federal government are not doing enough to stop the flow of Fentanyl into Ontario and Canada. Over the past, I guess five years since my son passed away, over 10,000 kids have died in Ontario from this deadly drug,” said Raso. “I’m sure Lake of Bay and Huntsville have their problems with Fentanyl and other opioid drugs. It’s a crisis up here and it’s a crisis throughout the country. Vancouver is probably the worst and Ontario is catching up very quickly,” said Raso.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ted Leck and Tom Brown are Chaplains for the fire department. This is Leck’s first year and he said he lost his friend’s son to an overdose. “This touches home for me too and I think it’s incredible that Angelo would do this for us and make a difference in someone else’s life. I’m really glad to be a part of it. They see this regularly and it impacts firefighters,” he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Huntsville\/Lake of Bays Fire Chief Gary Monahan said drug overdose calls have become more frequent than say 10 years ago. “Our crews have responded to a number of overdoses in the last four, five years.” He said the department saw a significant increase in those types of calls during COVID. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Monahan said it was important to ensure the funds did not go into general operations. “We didn’t want this funding to get watered down… we wanted it for specific training.” He said a separate line was established for the funds in the department’s budget. “This is going to be for our members to get them training so they can look after others.” He said the funds help with overall mental health and wellness and peer support programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Video below, courtesy of Jacob Snow-Kriger with the Township of Lake of Bays<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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