Empower Texas Teens: Prevent Fentanyl Tragedies

For my Eagle Project, I am developing a program to train teenagers to identify the signs and symptoms of an accidental fentanyl overdose and to administer Narcan. My goal is to create Teen First Responders who can help their peers by providing lifesaving Narcan, thereby extending the critical timeframe for first responders to arrive on the scene. Teenagers are more likely to be present at parties and events where accidental fentanyl overdoses occur.

We are working with the nonprofit organization, Grace To Change, to help educate and train our participants. The organization works to help people with substance abuse issues and advocate for teen drug prevention. You can visit their website here!

Our country has faced a striking increase in the number of fentanyl overdoses within the past 5 years. In 2020, 891 people died from fentanyl related overdoses in Texas. However, in 2023, that number has gone up to 2,293 fentanyl related deaths. (Texas DSHS Fentanyl Trends ) The number of fentanyl related deaths has gone up by over 2.5x the amount in 2020. In 2023, people aged 15-24 constituted over 400 deaths of fentanyl related deaths. Additionally, over 600 people aged 25-34 died due to fentanyl related poisoning. Despite these statistics, many people in our community still don't know how to recognize the symptoms of an overdose and how to treat individuals for overdoses with tools such as Narcan (Naloxone).

To combat this, we plan to educate citizens of our community, especially young teens, to know how to prevent overdoses from occurring, how to recognize the symptoms of an overdose, how to treat an overdose with Narcan, and how they can help further educate their community as well on how to deal with fentanyl poisoning. With your help we will be able to reach more people to attend the class and provide our participants with materials to help them learn.

If you and friends and family would like to sign up for this program, please visit our Signup Page and pick an available slot!