2024 Award Recipient
StellaMcLaney
Project S.A.F.E. (Students Advocating Fentanyl Education)
Project S.A.F.E. (Students Advocating Fentanyl Education)
Stella was saddened and shocked when her friend’s brother tragically died from taking a fentanyl-laced Percocet. She soon discovered that her friend’s personal story was part of a much larger public health crisis.
In Stella’s research, she learned that fentanyl is a cheap, highly addictive, and toxic drug that is dangerously disguised as other common pills. She cited that teens often purchase these pills on popular social media websites like SnapChat, and that they could be contaminated and fatal.
Compelled to educate and empower her peers, Stella co-founded S.A.F.E. (Students Advocating Fentanyl Education), a peer-led effort to spread accurate information and advocate to stop the fentanyl epidemic. Stella’s first action was presenting to the Miami-Dade County School Board, urging them to take the fentanyl crisis seriously.
As of 2024, Stella’s advocacy efforts have successfully stocked Narcan, a lifesaving opioid reversal medication, in over 300 Miami Dade County Public Schools. Over 60 teen ambassadors have joined S.A.F.E. and presented in 60 schools, and provided educational materials for distribution to 522 more. The program has expanded to four states, including Florida, Maryland, Delaware, and New York.
S.A.F.E. (Students Advocating Fentanyl Education) is confronting the alarming surge in fentanyl-related deaths sweeping the U.S. through a peer-led effort to spread accurate information and necessary tools to combat the epidemic. The crisis is particularly urgent among teenagers, and the most effective way to educate teens is through friends. The S.A.F.E. program trains and empowers teens to educate their peers about the hidden dangers of fentanyl in seemingly “harmless” drugs, and distributes naloxone to save young lives.
