LEANDER, Texas — As the fentanyl crisis plagues the country, a group of Central Texas students have decided take a stand against the drug.
Haven Gier and Alexandra Schiller – both students at Leander High School – explained how they, along with other students, came up with "Fentanyl Awareness Week."
Each day during lunch, the group acted out skits and put together all sorts of activities, all of which were aimed at showing their classmates the impact fentanyl has. Some examples included popping messages inside of balloons, showing a scenario a student would be in if they came in contract with the drug and what the outcome would be.
"We just talked about it and like, brainstormed with each other's ideas and things that we thought would be impactful for the students, not just giving facts but giving stories of students and people in our community," Schiller said. “This is an issue and that we can't just keep ignoring it."
But the group didn't stop there. Schiller said one student reached out to parents by sending out a Google form so they can share their personal losses related to fentanyl. The stories and photos that parents shared ended up on display inside of a hallway on campus.
Other posters were also hung on the walls with information about fentanyl and even included a QR code that led viewers to a website that provided information and more stories from loved ones.
"A lot of people think that, 'Oh, this might have happened here, but it doesn't go around here, right?' Like, they don't think that the fentanyl could get to them. When in actuality, it's happened to multiple kids at Leander," Gier said.
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, six out of every 10 fake prescription pills contain a potentially deadly dose of fentanyl.
Gier and Schiller emphasized their efforts won't stop with this week and the two, along with their peers, will keep the conversation going as long as they can.
“I want to make sure that all of my peers and everyone around me knows what a danger this is so that no one can be victimized by this drug, this opioid that can cause something like death," Gier said.
To finish off "Fentanyl Awareness Week," the pair said the school will be hosting an assembly on Friday, where they will welcome two mothers who lost their children to fentanyl poisoning.