FSUSD to host the final meetings of a Fentanyl Awareness Town Hall series

Numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest the tsunami of overdose deaths — driven largely by the spread of illicit fentanyl — may have peaked in March 2022.

Researchers found an astonishing 110,236 people, many under the age of 40, died in a single 12-month period, a record, the CDC reported.

While last year was certainly deadly, there are signs the worst of it may be over, some officials believe.

Still, fentanyl, a synthetic opioid reportedly 100 times more toxic than heroin, remains a scourge on American communities, as the drug has replaced heroin as the main street narcotic, concerns among others that have prompted Fairfield-Suisun Unified to offer its next Fentanyl Awareness Town Hall Meeting this evening in Fairfield.

The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Public Safety Academy, 230 Atlantic Ave.

To ensure the important information from these meetings is as accessible as possible, school district officials said in a press release, recordings of the event will be made available, and FSUSD has coordinated an additional Town Hall Meeting in Spanish from 6 to 7 p.m. on Feb. 9 in the Armijo High School Library, 824 Washington St., Fairfield.

The second Town Hall, organized by the FSUSD Student and Family Services Department, was held Jan. 25, and the first two sessions drew more than 100 community members.

Holly Collins, the Coordinator of Parent and Family Engagement at FSUSD, said, “We have received multiple requests from parents asking for more information about the dangers of fentanyl.

“It's constantly in the news, and fentanyl-related deaths have tragically impacted our communities. Parents want to know what fentanyl is, why it's so dangerous, and what they can do to protect their families.”

The district, the county's largest with some 22,000 students across 30 campuses, has partnered with neighboring school districts, public safety agencies, Solano Public Health, and other government agencies to host the Town Halls.

“Our goal is to arm families with the knowledge and resources they need to keep their loved ones safe and provide a forum where they can ask questions to experts in our community,” Collins added in the prepared statement.

Each Town Hall includes presentations from the Fairfield Police Department, Fairfield Fire Department, Solano Public Health, and Solano Collaborative Courts. At the end of each meeting, attendees are able to participate in a question-and-answer session with the presenters.