OLATHE, Kan. — To coincide with National Fentanyl Awareness Day, Olathe Public Schools launched its new campaign, Facing Fentanyl, in an effort to educate students on the dangers of the drug.
Leading that effort is Heidi Tomassi, the Olathe Public Schools' first-ever fentanyl and substance abuse education specialist.
“My position is brand new this year, I started January 8," she said. "It’s a grant-funded position that came about after I had my own personal experience. My son is an overdose survivor; he overdosed in January of 2022.”
While her 21-year-old son, Griffin, recovered, Tomassi advocated at Olathe school board meetings for fentanyl education at district schools.
“I’ve been in the district for six years supporting students, but that overdose changed the course of my family’s entire life," she said.
That advocacy lead Tomassi to the newly-created fentanyl and substance abuse education specialist position.
On Tuesday, Tomassi launched "Facing Fentanyl" with Griffin by her side at Olathe South High School, the same school Griffin graduated from.
"If you are lucky enough to survive fentanyl, it’s with you for the rest of your life and there’s hundreds and thousands of families that have not been so lucky, so it just means, my heart is just so full with pride for Olathe," Tomassi said.
The Facing Fentanyl campaign includes the help of various community partners: Johnson County Mental Health, First Call, the Olathe Fire Department and the Olathe Police Department.
“In terms of fentanyl, it’s really like the definition of it takes a village," Tomassi said.
That village includes Ofc. John Moncayo with the Olathe Police Department; he was at Olathe South High School Tuesday talking with students about the dangers of fentanyl.
“I think the important thing for us as a police department is to identify potential dangers early on, that way we can get ahead of the curve," he said.
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