TAMPA, Fla. — Two years ago, Tampa Bay 28 anchor Wendy Ryan spoke with Mike Ortoll, a grieving father who lost his daughter Christine to a fentanyl overdose after years of fighting addiction and mental illness.
Tampa Bay 28 previously shared a documentary called “One Second at a Time” that revealed Ortoll’s heartbreak following his daughter’s death in 2020.
Now, Ryan recently caught back up with Ortoll who is on a new mission to help other families battling addiction.
“Christine was the most beautiful girl a dad could have. You know, her and God saved my life because if I hadn't done this, I would not be in a good place. And to forgive me and everybody else, allowed me to keep moving forward and trying to help people, rather than get stuck in all the horrible things that happened to Christine,” said Ortoll.
So, Ortoll created the Christine Ortoll Charity and YouTube page offering free resources providing support for addiction and mental health through two national initiatives.
The first offered is Emotional Vaccines, educational videos helping teachers and parents spot signs early on in children facing trauma.
“So, I wanted to focus on prevention. How do we get to a child who's had trauma and we could help them before they start medicating. And that's what we have. It's called Emotional Vaccines,” said Ortoll.
The second initiative builds recovery program in colleges including his own alma mater, FSU.
“I needed to deal with supporting people in recovery, and I thought most people who need it are in college now. Not just because of alcohol and drugs. But because of process addiction. With this last study, 67% of our kids had more than two or three process addictions: gaming, gambling, social binging, and sex,” said Ortoll.
Mike said the program has already been successful with over 2,000 students participating.
“We had 17 kids that tried committing suicide that stuck with our program this year,” explained Ortoll.
And the collegiate program focuses on peer-to-peer recovery.
“My peer to peer is the students are involved with each other," said Ortoll. "It's not adults talking down to students, right? We have PhD students and faculty that help it. They support it, but the students are with the students in recovery together, and it's just a beautiful thing."
Watch: Mike Ortoll previously shared his daughter's battle with addiction with Tampa Bay 28's Wendy Ryan
The program “LIFT,” Living Intentionally, Finding Togetherness, is free to any FSU student thanks to Ortoll and other alumni donations. Researchers from the Association of Recovery in Higher Education finds these programs cut relapse rates by 15 years and longer.
“The kids stay in school. They graduate. Their GPAs are almost one point higher. They become thriving alumni. They give back,” explained Ortoll.
He visits FSU inspiring both students in recovery and future therapists.
“I go there at least twice a year, each semester," he said. "They watch 'One Second at a Time.' And we do a Q & A and it's helpful for them and me. And I do that not just with the kids in the program. I do that with the College of Social Work."
During those visits Ortoll said he sees his daughter in each student with renewed hope, recovery is possible, and no one should face it alone.
“At school, I just have kids get up and hug me and tell me how it resonates because here I am sharing my daughter's journals with the world and our family to the world. And they feel that safety of knowing, I just care about them being well,” said Ortoll.
You can learn more about the Christine Ortoll Charity here.
Share Your Story with Wendy
Tampa Bay 28 Anchor Wendy Ryan is dedicated to helping our neighbors navigate the important topic of mental health. For years, she’s been connecting people to resources, listening to their challenges, and sharing their stories to decrease the stigma. You can connect with Wendy by using the form below.
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