Documentaries

Fentanyl a family crisis for thousands, including the man behind the camera of WRAL's latest documentary

Fentanyl overdose deaths were the subject of the recent WRAL Documentary: "Crisis Next Door," with a direct connection even to the man behind the camera.
Posted 2023-04-03T20:57:22+00:00 - Updated 2023-04-03T20:57:22+00:00
'This one was hard:' WRAL Documentary photographer shares the personal story of loss from fentanyl epidemic

Fentanyl is taking a record number of lives in North Carolina. More than 4,000 people died from overdoses in 2021; 77 percent of those deaths involved fentanyl.

It was the subject of the recent WRAL Documentary: "Crisis Next Door," with a direct connection even to the man behind the camera.

WRAL Documentary photojournalist Jay Jennings has worked at WRAL for 43 years; 25 of those with the documentary unit. He has worked on some 115 documentaries over those years.

"I think there have been some really hard ones that I've done some that have been really gratifying, some that have dealt with some topics that were heavy, heavy, but I don't think any of them come close to this," Jennings said.

"Crisis Next Door" featured heartbreaking stories of loss, including that of Jeff and Lori Nash, of Apex, who had never heard of fentanyl until their 27-year-old daughter Amanda Nash died from an overdose.

"At the end of the day, there's lots of responsibility for this," Jeff Nash told WRAL.

"I mean, there is a drug dealer who has some responsibility. There is Amanda herself who is a grown adult who made up her own mind and made her decisions. And then, as a dad, it's my job to take care of her and I failed."

That was the quote that grabbed Jennings, and, he expects, other parents.

"When Jeff said, 'It's my job as a father to protect my daughters, to protect my kids, and I failed,' I don't think there's a parent anywhere that that just wouldn't tear your heart out."

Jennings wasn’t just listening as a photographer. He was listening to one of his best friends.

He says, "This one was hard because, of so many people that I know have been touched by addiction, this particular documentary, we told the story of someone we love, a family that we know well. Jeff and Lori Nash, we've known them forever. I will never forget when they asked my wife, Debbie and me, if we would be godparents to their two daughters. Amanda and Casey."

Amanda Nash was Jennings' goddaughter.

"Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that I would be going to her memorial service after she died of a fentanyl overdose," he said.

While Jennings knew he’d talk about his connection to the Nash family in a follow-up story like this one, he says, "I didn't want to make the story about me."

"I'm not dismissing the loss that our family feels from losing a loved one like Amanda. She did feel like our daughter, but this is Jeff and Lori's story, and this is Amanda's story and her sister Casey's story," he said.

Jennings says he'd tell his friends Jeff and Lori Nash, "You haven't failed. You haven't.

"We've watched them parent those girls. They're younger than us, but in many ways we learned a lot about parenting from watching them," he said.

"You just do the best you can in life to prepare your kids to be great adults. And we all make mistakes."

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