photo by: Rochelle Valverde/Journal-World

Free State High School Resource Officer Kacey Wiltz speaks during a forum on the fentanyl crisis on Thursday at district offices, 110 McDonald Drive.

Overdose deaths involving fentanyl have been rising dramatically in Lawrence, and local events Thursday aimed to educate students, parents and the community at large to reduce those numbers.

The Lawrence Police Department joined with the FBI, the Lawrence school district and the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office for a community tour and forum on the fentanyl crisis on Thursday. At the forum Thursday evening, Cynthia Johnson, the district’s executive director of inclusion, engagement and belonging, said that events at both high schools involved over 3,000 students and 400 staff members — and the goal of all the day’s conversations was to save lives.

“This is real, and I want you to know tonight that the topic is heavy,” Johnson told those gathered for the forum. “But if we’re going to transform what is happening in our community, we have to take a deep dive into topics that make us uncomfortable, that are hard, so that we can reach our youth.”

The forum, which took place at school district offices, was the culmination of a one-day city tour to educate Lawrence students on the dangers of the synthetic opioid, which has killed tens of thousands of people across the country in the past year alone.

The presentation included many numbers — the large amounts of fentanyl being seized by law enforcement across the state, the infinitesimal amount of fentanyl that constitutes a deadly dose, and the growing number of overdoses and deaths that have occurred in Lawrence over the past few years. According to statistics shared during the presentation, in 2022 there were 94 suspected overdoses in Lawrence and 13 deaths. In 2021, there were 25 overdose deaths, 16 of which involved fentanyl. In 2020, there were six overdose deaths.

Free State High School Resource Officer Kacey Wiltz shared another number. She said in the past two months, she’s had two kids come talk to her about people who are dealing drugs at Free State. She said overdoses happen at the high schools, and as part of the events Thursday SROs encouraged students not only to come to them with concerns, but also let them know that SROs and the nurses have the opioid overdose treatment Narcan in their offices.

“So at Free State High School, this happens,” Wiltz said. “We have overdoses at Free State — quite frequently. So they need to know that hey, we’re here to help them. If they need Narcan, it’s in our office. The nurses have Narcan in their offices.”

Lawrence High School Resource Officer Amaury Collado said the goal was education, and that both students and parents needed to be aware. For parents, Collado said that also meant staying vigilant of their children and looking out for warning signs.

“You need to be aware,” Collado said. “If you see a shift in the way your child is behaving, you need to dig into that. The same way if I see a child that I interact with everyday and I see a change, maybe I’ll strike up a conversation. So prevention starts in the home and it continues in the school, but it takes vigilance, not only from us but from you.”

Authorities have said the main driver in fentanyl fatalities has been simple ignorance, in that people believe they are taking one kind of drug, such as prescription Xanax or OxyContin or even heroin, but are actually consuming a substance that has been laced with fentanyl, which is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. FBI Special Agent in Charge Charles Dayoub emphasized that fact at the forum.

“A lot of what we’re seeing now is not simply that people are taking fentanyl because they want to take fentanyl; they are taking it and they don’t know they are taking it,” Dayoub said. “And it’s becoming deadly. They are too young, there is too much in their future, for them to lose their life on something like this.”

photo by: Rochelle Valverde/Journal-World

District Attorney Suzanne Valdez, whose brother Christopher died of a fentanyl overdose, speaks during a forum on the fentanyl crisis on Thursday at district offices, 110 McDonald Drive. Police Chief Rich Lockhart is pictured at right.

In December, District Attorney Suzanne Valdez’s office said it was prosecuting nearly a dozen defendants in separate cases for distribution of fentanyl that has led to death or great bodily harm. Valdez, whose own brother died of an accidental fentanyl poisoning, told those at the forum that she didn’t want anyone else to deal with the tragedy her family faced.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would ever have to go through something like this,” Valdez said. “I don’t want anyone else to go through something like this. This problem is not a Black problem, it’s not a white problem, it’s not a poor problem, it’s not a rich problem — it’s everyone’s problem. And we have got to really come together as a law enforcement team but also as a community to make sure our kids are safe.”

Valdez said the message she emphasized to students that day wasn’t about getting people in trouble, but being aware of the dangers so they can be vigilant for themselves and take care of each other.

Chrissy Mayer, of social service nonprofit DCCCA, said that people could request opioid overdose treatments, which can be easily administered through a nasal spray, for free through DCCCA. She stressed that even after Narcan or other treatment is administered, emergency medical services still needed to be called because the effects are only temporary.

The forum was followed by a time for questions, during which one woman said her son MJ had died of fentanyl overdose just a few months after graduating from Free State. In reference to an often-repeated phrase during the forum — “one pill can kill” — she said her son did not even take an entire pill. She said it was also important to address what kids might see as a benefit of taking the drugs, that it helps them feel good or happy, but they needed to understand the consequences.

“What they have to understand is the trade-off,” she said.

Johnson said a recording of the forum would be made available for parents and others who could not attend and that more information was also available at engagedouglascounty.org.

photo by: Rochelle Valverde/Journal-World

Cynthia Johnson, the Lawrence school district’s executive director of inclusion, engagement, speaks during a forum on the fentanyl crisis on Thursday at district offices, 110 McDonald Drive.

photo by: Rochelle Valverde/Journal-World

Police Chief Rich Lockhart speaks during a forum on the fentanyl crisis on Thursday at district offices, 110 McDonald Drive.