CATALINA FOOTHILLS, Ariz. (KGUN) — Looking at pictures of her son Jacob Guerrero, Theresa Guerrero remembered her 31-year-old son who died from consuming fentanyl in cocaine.
"He really liked encouraging his friends to do better, if they felt down about something," Guerrero said. "He was quirky. He was Jake, and I miss that."
For years, Guerrero has been raising awareness about fentanyl's dangers, with her voice reaching the Arizona Legislature to encourage stricter penalties for drug dealers.
"Education is big, so whether it starts at home, or in the schools, with politicians, lawmakers," Guerrero said. "It's not a party issue. It's just not, and so whoever can join in and help on either side, that's what we need."
In 2024, the Pima County Medical Examiner's Office's numbers show fentanyl overdose deaths went down by about 90 compared to 2023. Provisional numbers from their office also show that just about the same amount of deaths went down in 2025 compared to 2023.
However, they noted that provisional data show that overall drug overdoses in Pima County in 2025 were at 449 compared to 426 in 2024.
"I hand out NARCAN all the time, people that I don't know on the streets. So I do feel that that could be helping," Guerrero said.
The Pima County Health Department said NARCAN access, reducing stigma, harm reduction practices like not using drugs alone, and awareness help prevent overdoses. They said they’ve partnered with the Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona to re-launch SaludArte 2.0, which had an artist collaborate with people who use drugs to make an interactive art display on exhibit at the Tucson Museum of Art.
In order to bring more awareness to fentanyl and its dangers, the Pima County Health Department partners with the University of Arizona. That partnership focuses on continuing education for healthcare professionals about medication for opioid use disorder and pain treatment.
PCHD said they also partner with hundreds of groups like the Tucson Fire Department to hand out NARCAN.
"It's going to take a layered type of approach," said Oscar Durazo, Tucson Fire Department community risk reduction manager.
It starts with handing out NARCAN and resource information for treatment, he said, to organizations and businesses in areas that are the hardest hit by overdoses. TFD, he said, also responds to overdose calls and treats patients with NARCAN.
When checking to see if someone is overdosing, Durazo said it’s important to check whether the person is responding to your voice and seeing how they react when touching them on a body part like their foot. He said people can also check for a pulse and check for whether the person is breathing. If you have NARCAN, he said it can take more than one dose for a response.
"Our goal is to just saturate that area with as much NARCAN, making it available in case of an emergency," Durazo said.
Meanwhile, Guerrero is going to continue her work to get out the word this week in Phoenix with lawmakers. It’s something she said she would continue doing to help prevent even more fentanyl-related deaths.
"That's what you hope, that you can save those lives. Anybody's life, that we all matter, all our lives matter," Guerrero said.
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Andrew Christiansen is a reporter for KGUN 9. Before joining the team, Andrew reported in Corpus Christi, Texas for KRIS6 News, Action 10 News and guest reported in Spanish for Telemundo Corpus Christi. Share your story ideas with Andrew by emailing andrew.christiansen@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, or Twitter.
