San Jose Mercury News
Blindsided by the death of her 21-year-old son, Joey, from a combination of prescription drugs and alcohol in 2009, April Rovero has since made it her mission to help other parents avoid the nightmare she endured. For the past three years, few individuals have done more than Rovero to educate students, parents and lawmakers on the dangers of such prescription drugs as OxyContin, Vicodin and Ritalin. In 2010, Rovero, 60, founded the nonprofit National Coalition Against Prescription Drug Abuse to stem the rise in deaths and raise awareness of the problem nationwide.
