About us
Montgomery County Overdose Prevention Endeavour
“No family should ever have to go through the pain of losing a loved one because of overdose.”
“Overdose can affect anybody and one of the messages of this day is that people who overdose are our sons, daughters, parents, siblings and spouses – they are loved, and they are missed.”
Who are we?
We are parents, spouses, siblings, children, and friends who have been affected in some way by overdose.
We are coming together with a purpose to educate and bring awareness surrounding the drug epidemic in our community, and recognize the families that have suffered from the loss of a loved one.
Our Mission
Our mission at M-COPE is to work with individuals, communities, and organizations to speak about substance use disorder and the growing number of overdose and drug related deaths in Montgomery County. We focus on education, awareness, prevention, and remembrance and in doing so, we are bringing attention to our growing drug problem as well as helping to end the stigma by advocating for those that currently need help or support, and for those that no longer have a voice.
Sarah Hall
Board Member, Graphic Artist, Website Moderator, Outreach Chair
Hi, I’m Sarah
I lost my son Ethan on August 24, 2020. He was 22 years old. My precious baby was gone and my world was shattered.
After several months of barely being able to function, a friend suggested GRASP. I found our local chapter and joined; I knew I needed support to navigate these un-chartered waters. The stigma of losing a child to substance use was very evident at the beginning; things are said and friends become scarce. No one knows what to say to you!
At GRASP, I met a very special group of ladies; the same that you see here on our Board of Directors. In one of our conversations after a meeting, we all decided we wanted to do something more, something to help our community, and in the process raise awareness, and reduce stigma. We wanted to let families like us know what resources are available to them in Montgomery County.
Montgomery County Overdose Prevention Endeavor (M-Cope) was born!
At M-Cope I serve on the Board of Directors, am the graphic creator, website moderator and chair our outreach events for the community.
By day I work in accounting, at night I work on my photography and graphics company. I currently reside in Conroe, Texas with my husband, Kenny, along with 8 horses, 5 mini donkeys, 10 dogs and 7 barn cats. We have three other children; Hunter, Kimberly and Katlin who are all grown and live away from home.
My goal is to be able to support others in the community, and to bring awareness to the drug epidemic in our area. Hopefully, maybe I can keep other Mothers from having to go through the same experience as me.
Out of difficulties grow miracles
– Jean de la Bruyere
Kimberly Rosinski
Board Member & Volunteer Coordinator
Hi, I’m Kim
I lost my son Stephen October 22, 2019. He was 24 years old. He was my youngest child and life as I knew it would change forever.
Navigating through the loss of a child, especially due to Substance Use Disorder was so very difficult. It took all I had to survive day to day, and sometimes minute by minute. I soon knew I needed to find someone else – ANYONE else that knew what I was going through.
After finding Grasp (Grief Recovery after Substance Passing) I finally met a group that shared my unique grief and soon discovered I was not alone. Unfortunately, there are way too many loved ones lost due to substance use and I found a place where people understood without the guilt, shame, and stigma attached to this type of grief and the journey we all know too well prior to their passing.
Losing a child is tough! I knew watching so many others go through what my son went through in his addiction, and ultimately what my surviving children losing their brother went through, I had to do something!
I met 3 other mommas, the other board members here, who also lost their sons, we decided to do more to raise awareness, reduce stigma, provide education, and also, a way to remember those we have lost to this terrible disease. M-Cope was soon born!
Personally, I work for a local Children’s Hospital for the past 28 years where I am an Assistant Director over Revenue Cycle. My hobbies are travelling, spending time with my grandchildren and my 4 dogs. I live in Conroe, Texas and have 2 other adult children, Andrew and Brandi who thankfully live in the area.
My prayer is to help others who may be navigating this difficult journey. I want to help raise awareness and reduce the stigma of addiction. Lastly, I want to ensure my precious Stephen and anyone else that may not have survived their addiction are never forgotten.
Sherry Barton
Board Member
Hi, I’m Sherry
I lost my son, Chance on February 13th, 2019. He was 29 years old. He missed his 30th Birthday by 5 months and 1 day. I’ve always heard, as many of you have, that there’s no greater loss than a child. I always believed that to be true but was not prepared for the immense pain that enveloped me and continues to this day.
I tried many different groups and counselors but didn’t feel that they were a good fit. The shame and stigmas continue to set our loved one’s death apart from others. Some think that they are at fault and they want to live this life but who would ever choose the life of an addict?
I’m not sure who suggested that I go to GRASP but I was there for the very first meeting. I cried each time someone spoke of their loss. Not only did I feel their pain but bits of my story was also in theirs. When it came to my time I couldn’t get the words out and passed but I knew this was where I belonged. I can honestly say that GRASP may have saved my life. If not, it did help to deal with the despair and guilt I felt.
I grew up with addiction in my family including one stepfather with alcohol and two sisters and a niece with narcotics. I never dreamed that my child would pass away. I always felt that their would be time to heal our relationship and with one phone call it was all gone forever. I wanted to blame Mental Illness which I have since learned normally accompanies addiction. It was much easier than admitting my son was an addict. Those words are still hard.
I work nights as an RN in one of the Texas prisons where daily I see the devastation left by drugs. I have worked in Corrections for 23 years at several different units and in 3 states. I have two beautiful daughters, Lexie and Chelsea. They have blessed me with five wonderful grandchildren.
I’m thankful that I was asked to be one of the Admins for M-COPE. It has been an honor to work with these ladies. I’m praying that we can make a difference and keep others from enduring the heartache that comes with losing a loved one to this horrible disease. I feel that in this endeavor I am honoring my beloved son Chance and that he is proud of me. Or at least I hope he is.
Thank you,
SBarton, RN
Luther Unit
Kathy Posey
Board Member, Event Sponsor and Resource Coordinator, Memorial Walkway Chair, Veterans Memorial Walkway Chair
Hi, I’m Kathy
I lost my son Josh on May 2, 2017. He was 23 years old. He was my oldest of 2 boys and in an instant my youngest became an only child and our family was left with a devastating loss and a broken heart.
A couple days after Josh passed, a friend gave me the book “When a Child Dies from Drugs: Practical help for Parents in Bereavement”. From that I learned about a national non-profit organization called GRASP (Grief Recovery After Substance Passing) and followed their Facebook page. Although I was surrounded by supportive friends, no one could truly understand the pain of losing a child or any loved one to substance use. We had spent 5 years in the most unimaginable scenarios from residential treatment, jail, sober living homes to multiple overdoses. Unless you’ve walked in those shoes most can’t conceive the horror we saw and felt and how life could never be “normal” because any moment we could get the call. After going to an in-person GRASP meeting in Houston a couple times, I decided to step out of my comfort zone and start/facilitate a chapter in The Woodlands. The first meeting was in March of 2020, and we had 17 people in attendance! Since that time, we’ve had a steady number of people attend the bi-monthly meetings.
From this GRASP group, 4 Mothers came together and decided we couldn’t let the loss of our boys be in vain. We chose to start M-COPE and hold annual events to bring Prevention, Education, Awareness and Remembrance to our community and to try to prevent as many people as we could from enduring the loss we have felt.
My husband and I are enjoying retirement and in my spare time I play A LOT of tennis, work in the garden, cook and cheer on the Astros! I have an adult son Chris and a soon to be daughter in law, Andrea who are both nurses in Houston. We also keep busy with our rescue Sheltie and 2 Aussie grand pups.
My goal through M-COPE is to bring attention to this increasing drug epidemic, to provide events to help families get needed information to navigate their journey and to let people know that they are NOT ALONE! We are trying to help our children, siblings, spouses, and parents and to speak for those that have lost their battle so that they will never be forgotten!
Get involved.
We are always looking for organizations and individuals to partner with us. Visit our contact page to get in touch, You can also visit our press page for information useful to media agencies and news organizations.