Prescott Valley Illegal Fentanyl Working Group sets community goals for combatting fentanyl
Increasing event opportunities for teens, engagement and partnerships among the group’s objectives

Lake Valley Elementary School fourth-grade teacher Amy Bowser, Glassford Hill Middle School (GHMS) iChoose teacher Donte Edmundson, GHMS Principal Beth Denman, GMHS eighth-grade teacher Kari Ingerson, volunteer Liz Kennedy, Life Line Ambulance Operations Manager Scott Keilman, Humboldt Unified School District Superintendent John Pothast, Prescott Valley police Lt. Jason Kaufman, Dignity/Yavapai Regional Medical Center’s Rob Barth III, and volunteers Linda Letzer and Martha Zimmerman gather for the March 10, 2021, meeting of the Prescott Valley Illegal Fentanyl Working Group. (PV Illegal Fentanyl Working Group/Courtesy)

Lake Valley Elementary School fourth-grade teacher Amy Bowser, Glassford Hill Middle School (GHMS) iChoose teacher Donte Edmundson, GHMS Principal Beth Denman, GMHS eighth-grade teacher Kari Ingerson, volunteer Liz Kennedy, Life Line Ambulance Operations Manager Scott Keilman, Humboldt Unified School District Superintendent John Pothast, Prescott Valley police Lt. Jason Kaufman, Dignity/Yavapai Regional Medical Center’s Rob Barth III, and volunteers Linda Letzer and Martha Zimmerman gather for the March 10, 2021, meeting of the Prescott Valley Illegal Fentanyl Working Group. (PV Illegal Fentanyl Working Group/Courtesy)

Teachers, first responders and volunteers, among others, gathered in Prescott Valley on March 10 for the second meeting of the Prescott Valley Illegal Fentanyl Working Group to set goals on how to better combat the potent synthetic opioid’s use in the community.

Nearly 45 people attended the meeting, and participants split into three groups to work on measurable objectives to implement the groups’ three stated goals.

Those goals include:

• Increasing discussions focused on what the community must do to create more events and opportunities for adolescents and young adults.

• Bolstering community engagement by highlighting events that will communicate to adolescents, young adults and parents why fentanyl is a problem. The group says teens as young as 14 years old have died from a fentanyl overdose, so it is imperative to share information with every resident and business in Prescott Valley.

• Engaging more partners. The group says it is always looking for more partners. What can you or your organization do to help in this fight? For example, the mission of the Humboldt Education Foundation is to provide community support for excellence in education and to contribute to educational experiences for Humboldt Unified School District (HUSD) students.

PV Illegal Fentanyl Working Group volunteer Martha Zimmerman, an attendee in one of the three groups on March 10, said the group’s second meeting opened her eyes about the problem with fentanyl.

“Our group was definitely productive,” Zimmerman said. “And I would have loved to have been able to be in all three groups.”

REASONS FOR FORMING

At the PV Illegal Fentanyl Working Group’s first meeting in February, the group discussed the fentanyl threat and current proposed legislation at the state legislature. The group also developed the following purpose statement: “As a community, stop the illegal fentanyl epidemic that is claiming the lives of our adolescents and young adults.”

The group formed in part because of the alarming numbers reported in the 2020 Yavapai County Accidental/Undetermined Drug Intoxication Death statistics.

From 2019 to 2020, accidental/undetermined drug intoxication deaths rose from 68 to 82. Of those 68 deaths in 2019, 15% of them, or 10 deaths, were attributed to fentanyl.

However, in 2020, 42 of the 82 deaths were attributed to fentanyl, a more than 50% increase from 2019. Of the 42 deaths, five of them were teenagers and 21 of them were young adults between the ages of 20 and 29.

Overdose deaths have continued to rise over the past four years. In 2017, 40 overdose deaths were reported. In 2018, 47 overdose deaths were reported.

PV Illegal Fentanyl Working Group members said dealers are now mixing illegal fentanyl with other illicit drugs, such as cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine.

“This is especially dangerous because people are often unaware that fentanyl has been added,” the group reported this month. “The high potency of fentanyl greatly increases risk of overdose, especially if a person who uses drugs is unaware that a powder or pill contains it.”

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

What can you do if you think that your child, a friend or a family member may be abusing drugs, including synthetics and/or opioids?

PV Illegal Fentanyl Working Group leaders say it is never too early to talk with a friend or loved one about alcohol and other drugs.

“When you talk to youth, don’t leave out the details,” the group adds.

For more information, visit opioidod.com, which can help you start the conversation started. Group leaders say it is important to be specific about the dangers of fentanyl use.

“Let youth know that it is being sold as counterfeit OxyContin, Xanax, and other prescription drugs,” they add. Illegal substances, such as counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl, are being bought and sold by text message and on social media sites, group members say.

If you are a parent, you can do this by monitoring which internet sites your children are visiting and by asking them who they follow and what they are seeing and hearing online.

Over the past year, on overdose response calls, Prescott Valley police have been administering Naloxone, a medication used to try and rapidly reverse fentanyl overdose.

You, too, can buy Naloxone, which is available at pharmacies in Arizona without a prescription. It is easy to administer and has been proven to save lives. To find naloxone near you, visit naloxoneaz.com. If an overdose were to happen, call 911.

For information about treatment and counseling options, call the Arizona Opioid Assistance Referral line at 1-888-688-4222.

“Treatment works and there is hope,” the group added.

PV GROUP’S BACKGROUND

In November 2020, a concerned mother, Nicky Indicavitch, approached Prescott Valley Mayor Kell Palguta and then-Council member/current Vice Mayor Lori Hunt to discuss illegal fentanyl use in the community.

Fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, is similar to morphine but 50 to 100 times more potent. In its prescribed form, fentanyl is used for pain relief.

However, fentanyl is also made illegally and distributed as a street drug. Illegal fentanyl is sold as a powder or made into pills that look like real prescription opioid pain relievers.

The Prescott Valley Illegal Fentanyl Working Group was formed under MatForce, a longtime program seeking solutions to reducing substance abuse in Yavapai County.

Working groups under MatForce create, develop and implement integrated action plans for achieving objectives and activities. After the Prescott Valley group’s second meeting, Indicavitch said she is proud of its efforts.

“When you bring this community together behind such important work, they show you who they are,” she added. “And it seems Prescott Valley is a community ready and capable of protecting our young people.”

For more information about Prescott Valley’s Illegal Fentanyl Working Group, email Hunt at lhunt@pvaz.net or call Indicavitch at 928-899-4459.

Share # StopFentanylNow

Doug Cook is a reporter for the Prescott Valley Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at @dougout_dc. Email him at dcook@prescottaz.com or call 928-445-3333, ext. 2039.


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