LEANDER, Texas — This summer, a Leander mother is making it her mission to warn families about the dangers of fentanyl. Her son died after taking a pill that was laced with the deadly painkiller.
"Kids are going to sleep at night and they're not waking up in the morning. That's what we really need to stress," Stefanie Turner, president of Texas Against Fentanyl, said.
It's a warning she wants parents to be aware of: No matter who or when, fentanyl can take someone's life within minutes.
"It is so important for parents to carry Naloxone. You don't know what kids are coming into your house, what friends they're hanging around, passing stories. Parents are working during the summer, and kids sometimes have more free range to do stuff," Turner said.
School districts like Hays CISD have seen this tragedy time and time again. In 2022, one of the district's hardest years, six students died from fentanyl.
"They all appeared to have taken fake or counterfeit pills that they thought were Percocet pills. That's one of their friends who said, 'Oh yeah, if you're stressed, you know, studying too much or something like that, here, try this,'" Hays CISD Spokesperson Tim Savoy said.
Since 2021, the school district's nurses have had to administer Narcan to 11 students on campus. Although no students have died on campuses, this is a stark reminder of how important Narcan can be.
Savoy said during summer break, nurses aren't there to help.
"It does scare us because of the bad summer we had. And also, the very next death after that summer that we experienced was during our Christmas break of 2022. So again, we're talking about a long break," Savoy said.
Both Savoy and Turner said their message doesn't take time off, no matter how long school is out.
"We also provide free Narcan to anyone in the community in our office in Cedar Park," Turner said.
Both are hoping that as awareness increases, these tragedies will decrease.
Turner got "Tucker's Law" passed in Texas in 2023, requiring school districts to educate about the dangers of fentanyl. Now, through The Tucker Project, she is working with school districts to take the initiative nationwide.