COURAGEOUS PARENTS: My colleague Scooty Nickerson was on the scene Wednesday as six Bay Area parents were honored by the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office for dedicating their lives to raising awareness about fentanyl after their own children died of fentanyl.

Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen was visibly choked up while introducing the families who were being honored with courage awards from the DA’s office. Many in the audience, including police chiefs and deputy district attorneys who have investigated and prosecuted dealers who target children with fentanyl sales, fought back tears.

“A small pale blue pill is a threat to every parents’ hopes, and to our children’s lives,” Rosen said, referring to popular, blue-colored counterfeit oxycodone pills which are often laced with fentanyl. The district attorney’s office’s annual “Justice for All” high school art contest in 2022 also was dedicated to raising awareness about fentanyl.

One of the parents receiving the award, Ed Ternan, formed a nonprofit called Song for Charlie dedicated to spreading awareness about the dangers of fentanyl across the nation after his 22-year-old son Charlie Ternan, a Santa Clara University student, died of fentanyl poisoning in 2020. “All we can do as bereaved parents is prevent the next death,” Ternan said. “That’s what we focus on. That’s the only way we can contribute to this national crisis.”