by Melissa Lehto
The death of a loved one is never easy. Knowing that death may have been prevented makes it harder still. Sandra Lytikainen of L’Anse knows this firsthand. She and her husband, Mike, recently experienced the loss of their son, Ben, after an apparent accidental overdose of drugs. Ben was 25 years old. He died on Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2016. Lytikainen, however, took her grief and turned it into something positive. She created a group called “Sandra’s 100 women of Baraga County.” “I actually formed it on the evening that Ben died. I was so overwhelmed with grief and disbelief over Ben’s death. I wanted to get 100 women behind me to see what we could do to prevent this from happening to someone else,” said Lytikainen. Sandra’s 100 women of Baraga County focuses on getting help for those who want help and are not sure where to go. “The group is not just for women. The group is for anyone in the community wanting to make a change,” Lytikainen said. To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.