On National Fentanyl Awareness Day, Youngkin hears from families impacted in Glen Allen
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Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, First Lady Suzanne S. Youngkin, and state and local officials recognized May 9 as National Fentanyl Awareness Day in Virginia with the signing of a sweeping executive order and a series of events designed to fight the fentanyl and opioid crisis.
One of the events was a listening session at the Shady Grove YMCA in Glen Allen with Virginia Moms Against Fentanyl. Youngkin and his wife heard group members share personal stories about the dangers of fentanyl and opioid use. The governor and First Lady were joined by Health and Human Resources Secretary John Littel and State Senator Siobhan Dunnavant.
Youngkin’s executive order directs the launch of a new comprehensive fentanyl-fighting strategy across public safety, prevention, education, and treatment, and includes structural changes to better position Virginia’s government to fight the epidemic. The order comes on top of the Governor’s Right Help, Right Now plan to transform behavioral health, which includes a critical goal to reduce opioid overdoses in Virginia by 20 percent.
"Fentanyl poisoning has devastated families and communities across Virginia,” Youngkin said. “We cannot stand by as Virginians lose their lives when there are steps we can take to combat this deadly fentanyl poisoning crisis. We must act. I am confident that together these measures are significant steps to reduce the occurrence of fentanyl overdoses and deaths in the Commonwealth."
One tool highlighted by the governor during Fentanyl Awareness Day was REVIVE! training, which prepares Virginians on how to recognize and respond to an opioid overdose emergency using naloxone. Naloxone is a prescription medicine that reverses opioid overdoses by temporarily blocking the effects of opioids until first responders arrive. REVIVE! training is offered to anyone interested in preventing and reducing opioid overdoses, and Virginia has worked to make naloxone readily available.
In all, several dozen REVIVE! trainings and events in Virginia communities were held on May 9 in an effort to curb the opioid and fentanyl crisis throughout the state.
At other events Tuesday, Secretary of Education Aimee Guidera joined a roundtable discussion with the Virginia Education Association in Roanoke, addressing the importance of comprehensive sex education, mental health services, and substance abuse prevention; and Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security Robert Mosier spoke to prisoners and staff at State Farm Prison in Powhatan about the dangers of fentanyl.
In addition to the training events, Youngkin signed Executive Order 26 and eight bills that are designed to strengthen Virginia’s efforts to combat the crisis.
