SPOKANE, Wash. — Hundreds of high schoolers heard from an unexpected source about the dangers of fentanyl on Thursday.
Spokane Alliance for Fentanyl Education (SAFE) hosted a youth summit for high schoolers to learn more about the serious risks of fentanyl and how they can take action against the fentanyl crisis.
One of the panelists was Sarah Nowels, daughter of Spokane County Sheriff’s Office Chief John Nowels.
She told the audience about how her three-year battle with fentanyl addiction began when she was just 17-years-old.
“Immediately, I didn’t have the depression and anxiety that I had been feeling since middle school, and when [the fentanyl] took that away, I realized that I just wanted to feel like that forever,” she said.
Sarah survived her addiction and is now an advocate with SAFE.
The summit aimed to show how addiction does not discriminate and can touch anyone from any background.
“It doesn’t matter upper, middle, lower class, it’s affecting everybody,” Nowels said.
For more information about SAFE, visit raycerudeen.org.
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