Bringing awareness: Parents keen to spare others pain of losing a child to drugs
Their gym instructor son loved to help others reach their goals, and now Jacob Gunnell’s parents have a goal of their own.
The North Shore couple are raising money to help the NZ Drug Foundation check partygoers’ drugs at festivals, and beyond, this summer so no other family has to go through losing a loved one, as they have.
Today, Shelley O’Dwyer and Hyme Gunnell, with their younger son, wider family and friends and some of Gunnell’s former gym clients, will take part in two special fitness classes at Auckland Council’s Glenfield gym and Les Mills in Takapuna, where Jacob was an instructor before his death on December 30 last year.
Gold coins will be collected, and donations can also be made online at support- drug- checking. raisely. com
“We’re doing this to bring awareness to Jacob’s story, to keep his name out there, to honour him and to help others”, O’Dwyer said.
Jacob jumped to his death from a central Auckland overpass while under the influence of LSD.
His parents acknowledge he chose to take an illegal drug, a decision for which the 24- year- old paid the ultimate price, but they also found out later he would plan ahead to ensure he did so in a safe environment and would, where possible, get drugs tested first.
The fundraiser would help others do the same, O’Dwyer said.
The legalised drug checking by the Drug Foundation, KnowYourStuffNZ and Disc Trust, with support from the Institute of Environmental Science and Research ( ESR), had already saved lives, said foundation executive director Sarah Helm.
They found potent psychedelic 25B- NBOH was being sold as tabs of LSD at last year’s Rhythm & Vines music festival.
“Hand on heart, we saved lives at R& V.
“Increasingly we are seeing more adulteration [ mixing of drugs or use of substitutes] of substances, and more new, potent substances being identified in our drug- checking clinics.”
Testers also offered nonjudgmental advice to reduce the risk of harm from taking drugs, such as telling people to avoid mixing drugs and alcohol.
“Often people tell us that’s the first time anyone’s ever had a sensible conversation with them about drug use.”
Jacob’s parents were doing “something extraordinary with the terrible situation that’s happened to them”, and amid stigma around loss connected to drug use, including overdose, Helm said.
“Between 2013 and 2021, overdose deaths increased nearly five- fold to 171 people in 2021, putting the overdose death toll ahead of national drownings and over half the road toll from the same year.
“Most New Zealanders would be oblivious to that.”
Jacob hadn’t originally planned to take LSD on the night of his death so didn’t follow his usual precautions, including a “safe person to help ground him”, O’Dwyer said.
He became confused and ran away from the house he was in.
The coroner’s investigation has yet to be finalised, but after seeing CCTV footage of their son’s fatal jump his parents believe he mistook a motorway overpass for a fence.
They hadn’t previously known their son, who enjoyed a fun, busy social life, kept diaries with detailed plans of his career goals and wanted to go on his pandemic- delayed OE, had experimented with the drug.
“We can’t stop people taking drugs.
“But we can make sure they’re taking it in a safe environment.”
Getting help
The NZ Drug Foundation’s “straight- up” guide for people using alcohol and other drugs can be found at thelevel. org. nz