A mother turns grief over her daughter’s overdose death into a movement to save others struggling with addiction

Dawn Tatro and her husband purchased the abandoned church they once attended and where they held their daughter Jenna’s funeral. Today, it’s the center of their nonprofit, Jenna’s Promise, where they are fulfilling her wish to help other women struggling to stay sober and thrive.

For so many Americans, Jenna Rae Tatro’s story is one that’s all too familiar. After a visit to the emergency room in 2012, she received her first prescription for OxyContin. That 30-day opioid prescription changed the course of her life. The once joyful 20-year-old who loved horseback riding and animals became addicted to OxyContin. Then she turned to other drugs like heroin and fentanyl. She struggled with addiction for six years and went to 22 rehab facilities and numerous intensive outpatient treatment programs. “We did everything that we were supposed to do as a family. We did family vacations, we did the Sunday dinners,” her mother, Dawn Tatro, said. “But it doesn’t matter who you are, because that drug basically owns you.” Tatro remembers her daughter as someone who always wanted to help others. While in rehab, Jenna would often call her mother and ask her to pay for those who couldn’t afford to stay. During her final stay at a rehab facility, Jenna told her mom about her future plans. “She said, ‘Mom, when I am ready to leave this sober home, you and I are going to go around and raise funds to help people that aren’t as fortunate as I was,’” Tatro said. “And I said, ‘That’s awesome, because you and I, Jenna, we can do anything.’”