The fight against opioids continues with new efforts from state leaders and a local organization to combat the national crisis that’s felt in the Coastal Bend.
Padre Island resident Fay Martin lost her son Ryan to fentanyl poisoning.
“I can’t save my own son but I can save yours. I can save your loved ones,” Martin said.
But she’s turning her pain into purpose, educating others with her organization, Texas Against Fentanyl, where she serves as the South Texas Area Director for Texas Against Fentanyl .
“We need a COVID-like response to this crisis,” Martin said.
Her organization helped push House Bill 3908 into law in May of 2023, signed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott. It requires fentanyl education in public schools for grades 6-12.
But Martin said the problem is that it’s an unfunded mandate.
“It was created in Texas for Texans but we don’t have the money to get it into the schools,” Martin said.
Martin said the comptroller’s office has $1.6 billion that was allocated from a statewide opioid abatement settlement. Her organization is hoping to see some of that funding.