About Us

Mother. Mourner. Survivor. Servant. Warrior.

Perla has served her community for 15 years in many ways, from street outreach, crisis counselor, educator, to disaster relief specialist. But her most important mission in life was to nurture and guide her beautiful son, Elijah. That goal was ripped from her on September 16, 2020 when her only child was handed a pharmaceutically disguised pain pill made of pure Fentanyl. He was deceived by someone he trusted. As his mother, Perla has since dedicated herself to saving lives sharing his story and providing educational services. 

At Project Eli, our mission is to raise awareness about the dangers of illicit fentanyl and provide education, resources, and support to those who are affected by this crisis. Our goal is to prevent further harm and save lives through a variety of initiatives, including:

- Community outreach and education programs

- Distribution of naloxone, a life-saving medication that can reverse an opioid overdose

- Support for individuals and families affected by fentanyl

- Advocacy and policy initiatives to increase access to treatment and prevent death

Fentanyl is an ominous word. The media broadcasts it in connection to the opioid crisis. It sounds nefarious but it still seems distant. Until it becomes personal.

My son Daniel had a heart of gold. He had dreams, big dreams.  He wanted to become a businessman with goals to fund world missions.  His desire was to help others who struggled and hoped they would come to know the love of God.

My son was raised in Los Alamitos CA, where he attended school and excelled in academics and sports. He loved basketball, composing music, and singing. During my son’s junior year in high school, I noticed a change in his mood.  He seemed withdrawn and appeared to lose interest in all the things he once enjoyed. He struggled with anxiety and insomnia and I was at a loss to help him.  So, I took him to a psychiatrist and, shortly after, he began regular visits to a therapist. At 17, he was prescribed medication to help with anxiety, insomnia and depression.

Daniel did not like the idea of taking pills and was concerned with the social stigma that accompanied it. But after a few months, he started to improve, and the doctor suggested taking him off the medication to see how he did.  My son was thrilled. However, after a few months, the symptoms returned, worse than ever. But he didn’t want to see the therapist again. He’d say, “I’m not crazy, Mom. Please stop trying to force this.”  

But Daniel continued to struggle and eventually turned to marijuana. He said it helped him sleep. But I couldn’t allow this kind of self-medicating behavior in our home and warned him I would know because of the smell.

While competing in track and field, he met kids who were open about taking Xanax. Xanax use was popularized in music and it was easily accessible in our Rossmoor community. Things that were once stigmatized had become popular through the culture and became a youngster pastime. My son actually shared with me his thoughts on the practice. He thought Xanax was ok. He said it mellowed him out and besides, he wasn’t hurting anyone. He thought it was safe because his doctor had once prescribed it and he could finally sleep at night.

But he became addicted. It caught us off guard, how fast he became addicted. Daniel agreed to get help. During this treatment, the therapist found the root cause of his pain. My son revealed that he had been abused by a trusted paternal family member. The man is a teacher and professor, but Daniel decided not to confront his perpetrator at this time. His goal was to heal and strengthen his relationship with God.  I respected his decision but privately hoped justice would be served one day.

My son completed his treatment program in July 2020, and despite fear of Covid, he found a job and pursued college. He was doing well, and I was so proud of him.  He started complaining about insomnia again and reached out to his doctor for help. Because of his prior addiction, the doctor was reluctant to prescribe medication and encouraged him to try the holistic approach. He tried exercise, relaxing music, and meditation.  Nothing seemed to work.  

On Snapchat, he was referred by a friend to a young man who was selling what appeared to be pharmaceutical grade pain medications. On September 15th, my son asked to buy what he thought was prescription-grade Percocet. It was not. It was pure fentanyl, a lethal dose.  My beautiful son died that night.  He was deceived by someone who seemed trustworthy. One pill killed him. Fentanyl seems distant till it becomes personal and it kills.  

Project Eli educates parents, young adults and teens through Elijah’s story and directs them to community resources. Based in Orange County CA, Project Eli has been invited to speak at local schools, recovery homes and universities addressing students and parents on the deceptive ways Fentanyl kills using Eli’s, tragedy and accounts from other grieving families. 

Project Eli has advocated for legislative change across the nation, starting local with Orange County and Southern CA, to the California State Capitol in Sacramento, and on to our US Capitol in Washington DC. While in DC, Perla Mendoza was invited to meet with the Office of Drug Control Policy at the White House. In 2022 the city of Seal Beach, presented Project Eli, with a city Proclamation. 

Wade’s Story By: Joe Soliman 

On September 28, 2022, I found my oldest son Wade slumped over his toilet as if he was passed out on the toilet seat. I quickly realized he was non responsive and called 911. The operator had me administer CPR to Wade for about three to four minutes until the Fire dept and Sheriffs arrived. The Paramedics worked on Wade for almost two full hours. I had called 911 at 12:03 pm and at 1:43PM I heard the words that no parent should ever hear a Fire Captain say which was “I’m sorry, we did everything we could, however we lost him”. My wife and middle son and my youngest son (on the speaker phone from Texas) all fell to our knees with disbelief. The world was a terrible place that day, it had been for 12 years leading up to that with Wades addiction. I saw my home quickly fill up with Sheriffs Deputy’s and Narcotics Detectives. That’s the protocol with a suspected Fentanyl overdose. By 9:00 PM most of the law enforcement had left our home and the last part of that horrific day was about to take place. There was a knock at the door, and it was a Coroners Investigator that was there to evaluate what was labeled  a “Crime Scene” (Wade’s bedroom). Soon after that the coroners van showed up and I was watching my first-born son being hauled down the stairs of my home in a body bag from his bedroom to the driveway. I could not watch my son being loaded into that van just like we all see on the nightly news every night. I went back in the house and went numb the next 24 hours. We were given a brief moment to say our goodbyes to Wade before they hauled him off and the sound of the zipper of the body bag being pulled back up over him will never leave my mind. There is an ongoing investigation into Wades death on two different fronts. The first being whoever gave Wade the Fentanyl (Toxicology was positive for 3x the lethal amount of Fentanyl). The second investigation was to determine how Wade was able to get Oxycodone prescriptions from licensed medical professionals with abnormal regularity and scary frequency levels. Wade would be the first to say that nobody ever forced a pill down his throat, however he had a sure-fire vehicle (questionable medical personnel )to obtain the Oxycodone. These doctors had no issue billing Medi -Cal for the prescriptions.  This triggered a Team from the LA County Sheriffs Dept to open a case with their Major Crimes team. This team goes after doctors and alike who act irresponsibly and prescribe with a blind eye. (Pain Mgmt Doctors). Wade needed the Oxy so badly (smoked it and snorted it) that he would trade the prescription Oxy for “street” Oxy so he could get a larger quantity even if there was the danger of tainted or laced pills.Wade’s journey started just after high school with recreational pill popping (Alprazolam/Xanax). Over the years the usage escalated to horrific levels and then at times, Wade would detox himself and try to get clean. He did so successfully for a long duration, but then fell back into his addiction. As an addict, Wade would use and mix multiple drugs to both bring him down and back up again (Cocaine etc.). That eventually turned into using Meth, Heroine, needles and just about everything he got  his hands on to try to make himself feel better. Wade started out using the Xanax and Oxy recreationally and sadly was dealing those drugs to friends and eventually strangers alike. Eventually Wade needed the drugs more than the money and we saw this wonderful, kind, handsome, generous, bright longtime (Honor Roll Student) turn onto someone we didn’t even know anymore. The damage his addiction did to our family is indescribable at best. We all lived a twelve-year nightmare and as Wade was twenty-nine years old and halfway to his 30th birthday, I saw the look of death in his face and even a lack of desire for him to look in the mirror at himself anymore. There were times he cleaned himself up, but he refused most of the Rehabs his mom and I tried to get him into over the years. Sadly, I look back and feel it wasn’t a matter of “if” but more a matter of “when”. Wades death needs to stand for something bigger than his death itself. Another life needs to be spared thorough the lesson of Wades death. No parent or sibling should ever have to watch their son or brother leave their home in a Coroners van. I will carry “Wades Story” with me for the rest of my life and I will try to support, educate, and spread my message to the parents of addicts who need help understanding this disease of addiction and this killer called Fentanyl.