RAPID RIVER, Mich. (WZMQ) – A Delta County community is working to educate the public about the dangers of fentanyl use.
“We’ve lost four kids since 2022,” said Kelly Dittrich, whose nephew died of an overdose. “One was too many.”
“My son passed away in 2022,” Mike Hebert said. “Since then, [Dittrich’s] nephew two years later, and then two more since then. It’s really taken a toll on the community.”
That community is taking action by hosting an awareness event at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, February 12, at Masonville Township Hall. Dr. Kelly Myrick of OSF HealthCare will give a presentation on the effects of fentanyl and other opioids and products like Narcan that can save lives. Law enforcement will discuss their role in combating the issue.
“Hopefully we can help people understand better what law enforcement are doing, what the prosecuting attorney’s office is doing, and there won’t be so much anger out there,” Dittrich said.
Attendees will also hear about the effects of fentanyl use, opioid addiction, and overdoses from those who have been directly impacted.
“I just found out that they actually have test strips,” said Dittrich. “Almost a year ago, I lost a nephew and I had no idea. I think a lot of parents and people—young people especially—need to know this.”
Rapid River Public Schools will host similar presentations on Thursday, February 13. K-12 Principal Rachal Gustafson says with fentanyl becoming the top killer of adults between the ages of 18 and 45, overdoses often occur shortly after students leave high school.
“It’s been very hard on our faculty who have had these students from the time they were in kindergarten or little and watched them grow up,” she said. “They’re worried about our students we have now. They don’t want them to get to that point.”
Sometimes, the individual doesn’t realize they’ve taken fentanyl until it’s too late.
“You think you’re taking a pill and it’s laced with something that could take your life,” Gustafson said. “It’s not that we just shouldn’t be taking drugs. If you take drugs, you’re at risk to lose your life for reasons that you don’t even know about and understand.”
She says educating students on the dangers of opioids could prevent future tragedies.
“We are sometimes with kids in school longer than parents see them at home,” said Gustafson. “If we can get this information out to them in an education setting, that will carry forward hopefully in their early adulthood, college, and moving forward.”
The work to stop fentanyl use and overdoses doesn’t stop with the awareness events. Concerned community members have formed a group called Overdose Awareness of Delta County.
“We’re hoping to not just spread awareness but to go further with it and have some fundraising events and community involvement,” Hebert said. “We are also working on getting an app that anyone can install on their phone so that if anybody who has information that they want to share with law enforcement, it’ll be easily accessible.”
Dittrich says Overdose Awareness of Delta Couty is dedicated to keeping the public informed, prepared, and alive.
“We don’t necessarily think that it’s always an addiction issue,” she said. “Sometimes, it’s just kids out partying and thinking they’re ten feet tall and bulletproof and they can do this. We need to make sure that we don’t have any more deaths like this. I never want to see another family go through this again.”
“It is so deadly,” said Hebert. “It only takes a small dose to take someone’s life. We just can’t sit and do nothing.”
For more information on the Masonville Township Hall awareness meeting, click here. The presentation at Rapid River High School is open to students, parents, caregivers, and community members. Sessions begin at 8:15 a.m. and 9:15 a.m.
To learn more about Overdose Awareness of Delta County, visit the group’s Facebook page. Anyone with information on drug activity in Delta County can report it to (906) 786-5911.
