Looking for the Helpers: Santa Maria mother guides people struggling with addiction after losing her own son

As our area is faced with ongoing changes due to a growing pandemic, we are bringing stories of people doing good in the community during a time of uncertainty.

Help us look for the helpers!

'Let's Make a Difference'

Danielle Murillo of Santa Maria created the nonprofit Let's Make a Difference in memory of her son, Jaycob Murillo.

Jaycob passed away from a drug overdose in 2018 at 27. Murillo said her son wanted to live a healthy and sober life, and now wants to use his story to help others.

The mission of Let's Make a Difference is to connect families and friends of addicts to support, services, and education to deal with the pain due to substance abuse and overdose.

Murillo says during Jaycob's years of active addition, she felt alone, not knowing where or how to reach out for help.

She believes that so many people have been affected by addiction at some point in their life, but the stigma surrounding it pushes them to cover it up and not talk about it. She believes if people don’t start talking about it, they won’t be able to correct it. She hopes to collaborate with other organizations to educate the community and raise money to sponsor families dealing with addiction.

The 2nd annual Let’s Make A Difference event is taking place on Saturday, August 29. Due to the pandemic, the event will be held on the organization's Facebook account.

The virtual event will feature presentations from speakers and other organizations in the community with valuable information for families and friends of addicts and information for the addicts themselves.

Let's Make a Difference is also raising money to support its efforts. Visit the organization's online store to purchase merchandise.