ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Recent studies have found that young people are more likely to try drugs for the first time in June and July. Bernalillo County is working to educate the community about the dangers of fentanyl.

“The drugs that we have in our community today are like no other drugs,” said Lisa Sedillo-White, Bernalillo County deputy county manager. “Fentanyl is laced in almost every drug and what’s being sold on the streets are counterfeit drugs.”

According to the DEA, fentanyl is a top local drug threat in Albuquerque. That threat is something that Sedillo-White knows all too well.

“My son, at one time, had an addiction to fentanyl,” Sedillo-White said. “It was a 10-month addiction.”

Through her work at the county, she was able to get him the help he needed – but he still lost his life way too soon.

“Unfortunately, I lost my son to gun violence,” Sedillo-White said.

She said that a friend on fentanyl shot and killed him. Following the loss of her son, Sedillo-White helped launch the Keep NM Alive campaign.

With the support of Bernalillo County, Keep NM Alive works to empower families with the knowledge they need to prevent substance abuse.

“Many of our kids go to parties and are introduced to drugs, and so we want to educate as many youth, continue to provide the prevention, and it’s also important for our caregivers and our families to be informed so they can see signs and they could help with prevention,” Sedillo-White said.

The campaign is currently revamping its website and will also make pushes on social media, as well as at events like Isotopes games, APS sporting events, and more.

“It’s a way to communicate, it’s a way to share in our experiences, to let our community know that they’re not alone,” Sedillo-White said. “It’s also a way to give them information that they would normally not have.”

For the past couple of years, Keep NM Alive has hosted a fentanyl summit, bringing together community members, law enforcement, and treatment providers with four major themes.

“Education and awareness, prevention, and intervention,” Sedillo-White said.

Another summit for this year is in the works.

Keep NM Alive is hosting a Substance Prevention Resource and Empowerment Expo at the National Hispanic Cultural Center from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Monday, May 6.

The Keep NM Alive initiative is a partnership between Bernalillo County, the City of Albuquerque, the DEA, the State of New Mexico and other local, state and federal government entities, as well as experts from multiple fields including medical, harm reduction, judicial, law enforcement, community treatment providers, impacted family members, those in recovery with direct lived experience and community support networks.