Kayla Essem prayed she’d get arrested.
The 32-year-old from Sioux Falls said she had been on and off drugs since she was in high school — fentanyl, cocaine, heroin and meth. Addiction was the only thing she was destined for, she believed, after seeing family members struggle.
Years of drug use frayed her self-confidence and robbed her of stability. Her partner left, taking her two children. She fell into an abusive relationship and overdosed in 2024…