Michelle Watson, the founder of the 1:11 Project, said a struggling teenager confided in her about his pill use, leading to his admission to rehab and a hopeful path to recovery. Watson was a guest on a recent episode of the Best of Midland Podcast.
"I had a kid who the other day, I'm telling you, called me this Michelle," said Watson on a recent edition of the Best of Midland Podcast. "He was struggling, he said, 'I did take pills today, I am on pills today.' I'm like, 'Hey, where are you at? You know what he's doing?' That day I said to him, 'You have to be the one to make the decision to stop.' ‘But I'm stressed out, my girlfriend and I are into it, and I'm mad at her’, and they're, you know, they're teenagers."
“He couldn't tell his mom those things," Watson said. “I'm a complete stranger, but he could tell me because he was embarrassed that his mom was going to think something or whatever. His mom called me after, she's like, thank God he talked to you. Now he's in rehab, he's in the very beginning of it but he's going to be fine.”
Watson is the founder of the 1:11 Project, a registered non-profit organization focused on raising awareness about the dangers of fentanyl and combating its misuse.
Best of Midland Podcast is hosted by Ryan Shewchuk and Terra Avery. It is an extension of the broader Best of Midland program, which aims to support small, local businesses by showcasing them and the people behind them. Their website lists top businesses and upcoming live events happening in the area.
The podcast is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.