Johnson County fentanyl education advocates have one message for teens and young adults: “You Never Know.”
A public service announcement campaign, “You Never Know” is just one of the ways that Johnson County advocates are trying to spread awareness among youth about the dangers of fentanyl poisoning, or an accidental fentanyl overdose.
Last month, the campaign earned a regional Emmy Award nomination.
This comes as provisional 2023 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows that Kansas currently leads the nation in drug-induced death rates among teenagers ages 15 to 19, advocates say.
Fentanyl is 50 times more potent than heroin, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Advocates say fatal amounts of the synthetic opioid are in other illicit prescription drugs like Adderall, Oxycontin or Percocet.
Libby Davis’ 16-year-old son Cooper died from an accidental fentanyl overdose in 2021. Since then, Davis has made it her mission to educate teens and families about fentanyl and fake, illicit prescription drugs through the nonprofit Keepin’ Clean for Coop.
Davis and Keepin’ Clean for Coop worked with the Johnson County Mental Health Center on the “You Never Know” public service announcement to warn youth about fentanyl poisoning.
The announcement ran for three months and reached hundreds of thousands of eyes through social media and streaming apps.
“There is no such thing as not my child, not my community, not my high school,” Davis said. “It is happening all over the place, and we need more people to be open to those concepts that no one is safe from this.”
You Never Know | PSA – 60 Second Version | LOCAL CHANNELS from Overflow Creative on Vimeo.
There is a gap in county-specific data
Advocates say that while provisional 2023 data from the CDC shows that Kansas is number one in the nation for drug-induced deaths for teens ages 15 to 19, it’s unclear how that impacts Johnson County specifically.
Sierra Wright, the manager of prevention for Johnson County Mental Health Center, said there is a lack of county-specific data on teen fentanyl poisonings.
Oftentimes, advocates rely on death rates to understand the problem, which is unhelpful “when we’re trying to really prevent those deaths from happening,” Wright said.
While there is no county-specific data on teen fentanyl poisonings, Davis said, there is anecdotal evidence that this nationwide crisis is impacting Johnson County.
Davis said she’s heard about school districts administering naloxone — a medication that reverses an opioid overdose — during school settings from stakeholders in the county’s prevention and recovery coalition. The coalition formed in 2022 to combat the larger opioid crisis impact on Johnson County and hosted its first symposium earlier this year.
Fentanyl busts in surrounding communities like Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas City, Kansa, and Lawrence, Kansas are also a sign that the synthetic opioid is in Johnson County, Davis said.
“It is all around us, so to think you live in a protected community where it’s not going to infiltrate is just ignorant,” Davis said.
Teens are looking to drugs for help, advocates say
Fentanyl is in “all of the street drug supply,” Wright said, which is dangerous for teenagers who may be experimenting with drugs.
In Johnson County in particular, though, a culture of high expectations can put a lot of pressure on teenagers, Wright said.
This may lead teens to seeking out an Adderall pill, for example, that they think can help them continue to be high performers, Wright said. That becomes a terrifying situation when all the illicit pills, including Adderall, on the market are tainted with fentanyl, she said.
Davis said there is a sort of innocence behind a teenager wanting to find something to reach or maintain high expectations. They aren’t chronic drug users, she said.
Oftentimes, a teenager seeking out medication is a way to avoid talking about their mental health or admitting that they’re struggling, Davis said. The teenagers are usually unaware of the new danger of fentanyl, though, she said.
“For that high-performing teenager, they know people look at them and think they have it all together and they don’t want to disappoint,” Davis said. “They don’t want to talk about it. They want to quietly find help their own way, and it’s going down this deadly path.”
A new focus on prevention education
Johnson County and nonprofits like Keepin’ Clean for Coop are focused on prevention education. The “You Never Know” campaign is a prime example of this approach.
Another example is Heidi Tomassi, the first-ever fentanyl and substance abuse education specialist at Olathe Public Schools. Tomassi’s own son is in recovery from fentanyl and is an overdose survivor.
In her role, Tomassi visits secondary classrooms over about a two-day period.
On the first day, Tomassi shows Olathe students “The New Drug Talk,” a 28-minute documentary with information about the fentanyl crisis put together by Song for Charlie, a California nonprofit.
On the second day during a question-and-answer session, Tomassi tries to create a safe space for students to talk openly about fentanyl. There is also a reflection piece for students to fill out as part of this prevention education in classrooms, Tomassi said.
“What we really know about this generation right now is they just really want honesty and transparency,” Tomassi said. “I just provide that to them the best that I can, because if we don’t have these tougher conversations or transparent conversations, then we’re not going to do any good for them.”
Tomassi, who started in January, also built relationships with the fire and police departments, local nonprofits and Johnson County Mental Health.
These partners showed up to Facing Fentanyl OPS 233 events across all five Olathe high schools on May 7, National Fentanyl Awareness Day, Tomassi said.
Soon, Tomassi plans to use Song for Charlie’s peer-to-peer curriculum in Olathe classrooms, which features middle and high school students.
Tomassi said Olathe teen councils told her that they want to hear information about fentanyl directly from people their age, and that she sees the peer-to-peer curriculum as “a gift to our community.”
What more can be done?
If you ask Davis, a lot more can be done to address the fentanyl crisis and its impact on Johnson County teenagers.
Davis said she believes prevention education needs to start in schools, where students are learning all day. She and other advocates are pushing the Kansas State Board of Education to adopt a fentanyl curriculum, and she wants to see the “You Never Know” campaign in schools.
But there is no one solution, Davis said.
Prevention education, community awareness and accountability for those caught distributing such as prosecution are all necessary, Davis said, adding that “you really do have to attack from all angles.”
Wright said the public can ask their local legislators about lessening the road blocks around student surveys in schools, which used to fill what is now a gap in county-specific data about substance use among youth.
For Tomassi, it’s all about “changing the conversation” adults have with youth about drugs. She talks to students about how to report Snapchat or Instagram stories that solicit people to purchase drugs, and how to bring it up to other teachers, parents or guardians.
“The goal behind me really trusting in what Song for Charlie is doing and collaborating with them really is changing the conversation,” Tomassi said. “Taking some of the stigmas off, having students feel supported and safe and confident in having these conversations with the adults in their life.”
Go deeper: What Song for Charlie’s The New Drug Talk online here.
