We hear a lot about fentanyl deaths in America today due in large part to our open southern border. One of the saddest parts of this crisis is the number of young people who accidentally die from overdoses from taking what appears to be other drugs or medicines that are laced with this lethal drug.

Parents need to tell their children to never take a drug or medicine given to them by a friend or a non-medical or a non-parental source. A quarter of these fentanyl deaths involved counterfeit pills like Valium, Xanax, or Percocet, often obtained from friends or bought through social media.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, 84 percent of all teen overdose deaths in 2021 were related to fentanyl. Fentanyl-related adolescent overdose deaths have nearly tripled between 2019 and 2021. USA Today reported

“Fentanyl accounted for more than 67,000 preventable deaths in 2021, which represents a 21% increase since 2020, according to the National Safety Council. More than 5,600 of those deaths occurred in people ages 15 to 24.”

Last year nearly 110,000 Americans died from a drug overdose. In 2021, overdose deaths surpassed 100,000 for the first time in U.S. history after having doubled from the previous five years.

We have to do everything in our power to speak with young people and make sure they understand this dangerous epidemic that is easily prevented if they know what to do when approached with drugs.

Mark your calendars! Attend an informational forum on dangerous drugs on Monday, January 22, 2024. Parents will be equipped with information that they can share with their children to avoid a life of drug addiction or worse.

We will hear from Dr. Karl Benzio, who is a board certified psychiatrist, a biomedical engineer, and founder and medical director of Honey Lake Clinic. He has given expert testimony before state and federal legislatures on issues including Right of Conscience, Physician Assisted Suicide, Same Sex Marriage, Gender/Identity Confusion, Abortion, the Opioid Epidemic, Suicide, and other behavioral health complexities. He is the medical director of the American Association of Christian Counselors, the largest Christian behavioral health organization. He is an advisor to the Mental Health Initiative, Bubba and Cindy Cathy’s (Chick-fil-A co-owners) efforts to advance Christian Behavioral Health. He is co-founder and co-host of the Mental Health Collective, a unique Christian Behavioral Health Think Tank.

DATE: Monday, January 22, 2024

WHERE: Grace Fellowship Church
                   15150 Oak Park Ave
                   Oak Forest, IL

TIME: 7P M – 9PM

COST: Free

Click HERE for a flier.