The Youth Leadership Council, a group of Okaloosa County high school juniors and seniors, presented a recommendation to the Okaloosa School Board and Superintendent Marcus Chambers on Monday regarding a project to raise awareness about the dangers of fentanyl.

The council, which has been meeting regularly since May 2021 with the support of County Commissioner Mel Ponder and Superintendent Chambers, aims to bridge the gap between administrators and students by bringing forth important issues. The students present at the meeting were:

• Sophie Palm (Chair of the Youth Leadership Council) – Baker School
• Genesis Jimenez Chavez – Northwest Florida Collegiate High School
• Corbin LeMire – Niceville High School
• Miller Lindsley – Fort Walton Beach High School

This year, they have decided to focus on the growing fentanyl crisis.

“Fentanyl is an incredibly potent opioid that takes incredible precision to dose,” said Sophie Palm, a senior at Baker School and chair of the Youth Leadership Council. “The problem in today’s society is that it’s being laced into things when people don’t know it.”

The council’s goals for the project include raising awareness about the dangers of fentanyl, starting a healthy dialogue about substance abuse in teens, offering resources and facts for education and recovery, and joining the established National Fentanyl Awareness Day campaign on May 7.

According to the CDC, fentanyl is involved in more deaths of Americans under 50 than any other cause, including heart disease, cancer, and all other accidents. Just 2 milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal. 

• As Sophie Palm pointed out in her presentation, on March 11, the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office released details of two separate fentanyl-related arrests in which they found eight grams of fentanyl in one of the incidents.

To observe National Fentanyl Awareness Day, the council proposes that each school participate by discussing the day during morning announcements, playing an informational video, encouraging students to wear purple, and distributing purple ribbons. 

• The council has also created a “One Pill Can Kill” poster to be displayed in high-traffic areas.

Superintendent Marcus Chambers expressed his appreciation for the awareness the council is bringing to the issue. “From marijuana to other pills, especially things that come from the street, where individuals think that they’re purchasing one thing and then the next thing you know, it’s something else,” he said. “When you talk to the Sheriff’s Office, they’re using Narcan nightly to revive people.”

School Board member Linda Evanchyk commended Palm’s efforts and inquired about the council’s collaboration with the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office. Palm confirmed that they have been working with Sheriff Eric Aden and his School Resource Officers to distribute purple ribbons and find high-traffic areas to display the posters.

Board member Tim Bryant also acknowledged the severity of the fentanyl crisis, particularly in Crestview. 

• “I know our chief of police made a presentation not too long ago and they had to use Narcan seven times in one week, so it’s close to home,” he said. “It starts with education, and I think students listen to other students better than they listen to us adults. So I think it’s commendable what you’re doing.”

“Drug use often starts at a young age, and that’s why we as the council think it is so vitally important to start educating on things like fentanyl, which is a new thing to be covered,” Palm said.