One family is working to end the fentanyl crisis by putting their story on billboards across North Texas. They lost a son to an overdose. Now their warning comes as the deadly problem continues to grow.
Frank Moreno read the names of 24 people Monday evening near the corner where their faces will be displayed on a billboard over the interstate in North Richland Hills. All of them are dead because of fentanyl.
“The sad part to me is the family that we became a part of, it’s growing. And honestly, that is something that we don’t want,” Moreno said. “We don’t want this family to grow. It’s not just our kids, it’s somebody’s nieces, nephews, cousins.”
Peggy and Adolph Alvarez held a poster that said ‘forever eighteen’ below a picture of their daughter, Abigail.
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“One of her friends came and picked her up one Friday evening and they were just going to hang out for a few hours, and we never heard from her,” said Peggy Alvarez. “We tried to get a hold of her all evening, and we found out that morning at 11 a.m. that she was dead.”
According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, 83% of unintentional synthetic opioid deaths in 2019 were related to fentanyl. That number jumped to 90% in 2020. And by 2021, 95% were fentanyl-related.
The problem has crept into neighborhoods and schools across the state. In February, two adults were arrested after the fentanyl-related deaths of three Carrollton-Farmers Branch students. Agents arrested 21-year-old Luis Navarrete and 29-year-old Magaly Mejia Cano, accusing them of dealing fentanyl outside of the residence, located between Turner High School and Dewitt Perry Middle School.
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The age demographics are concerning as well. Data from the state shows some 74% of deaths are between ages 18-44.
Ofie and Frank Moreno sponsored the billboard in honor of their son Sebastian, and they hope anyone who sees it pays attention.
“We hope that they see the face of a young person that wanted to live and not die. Fentanyl creeped into their homes, our homes and stole them and it can do it to any family,” said Ofie Moreno
According to data from the Collin County Substance Abuse Program, 60% of the drugs currently seized by the DEA contain fentanyl. Even more alarming, 42% of these fentanyl-laced drugs contain at least two milligrams, a dosage that can prove lethal.
