Mother opens youth center after losing teenage son to heroin overdose
WARRENTON, Mo. (KTVI) -– A Warren County mother who lost her teenage son to heroin hopes the new youth center she opened will help save lives. Kelli Clodfelter opened Jason's Place, which is named after her late son, in Warrenton.
Last fall, Clodfelter got a call that her 17-year-old son Jason was in the emergency room, and she had no idea why he was there. As she found out later, Jason had tragically overdosed on heroin. He wasn't a user, she said, as it was his first -- and last -- time using the dangerous drug.
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"I do believe our son was in a bad place, he made a bad decision," Clodfelter said.
Just five weeks earlier, Jason had lost his younger sister Gracie.
Photos of Jason Clodfelter and the youth center his mother opened in his honor:
Jason's Place, a youth center that offers recreation activities and programs to steer youngsters away from drugs and alcohol, is designed to be a safe haven for young people that they can call their own. Jason's Place is open Monday through Friday after school for them to spend time at instead of getting involved with bad crowds.
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