On Wednesday November 13, sophomores, juniors, and seniors congregated in the big gym for an informative assembly about the fentanyl epidemic. Wellness Coordinator Jenna Wrobel helped organize the event in order to “expose as many students as possible to the dangers of fentanyl.” In cooperation with Song for Charlie, a nonprofit organization dedicated to “raising awareness about ‘fentapills,’” the assembly featured real life stories of teens who had died from taking pills laced with fentanyl.
The main speaker at the event was Laura Didier, a director at the organization, who shared her own story of losing her 17-year old son Zach to a counterfeit pill in 2020. With firsthand knowledge regarding the dangers of “fentapills” and the overall magnitude of the fentanyl epidemic, Didier’s emotional story provided greater depth – and heartbreak – to the assembly.
Among the attendants, junior Colbie Freese said she found the event a “really great opportunity to learn about a crisis that is kind of overlooked. [Didier] shared a very personal story about the passing of her son, and I think that it was super impactful to hear about how this crisis affected another teenager of a similar age to a lot of people in the audience.”
Wrobel added that “adolescents tend to want to experiment with substances like drugs and alcohol, really not knowing the dangers out there. As Didier mentioned, times have changed and certain drugs can prove to be lethal, specifically fentanyl.”
While this isn’t the first time that Campo has hosted an assembly to raise awareness on fentanyl, Wrobel explained, “we focused on 10th, 11th, and 12th graders this year because we want [the discussion on fentanyl] to be something we do with all grades going forward. This year we decided to take the chance and I was so impressed with our students because of the
gravity of the topic.”
Going forward, with a growth in fentanyl-related deaths among teens over the past five years, the issue of fentanyl and “fentapills” is one that will likely remain prevalent and ever-evolving. But with greater access to information and resources, as Freese puts it “we have the ability and the responsibility to spread awareness.”
For more information on how you can help, visit songforcharlie.org.
