Following the death of her friend as a result of fentanyl poisoning, Christian County resident Cara Hall says she felt as though awareness and education of the harms of fentanyl needed to be shared, so she is working on doing just that by organizing a fentanyl awareness walk.
Hall says her friend Lucas Back died of fentanyl poisoning in April, which led to her organizing Luke’s Walk to not only give people a chance to remember Back, but loved one’s they might have also lost to addiction.
Hall says Back moved to Florida to live with his cousin in 2019 to focus on his rehabilitation and to stay drug free. However, in February Back moved back to Christian County because his brother was in an accident and Hall says when he did move back, he relapsed which resulted in his death.
After Back died, Hall says she did research about fentanyl and found that it can kill people who aren’t even addicted to it and are not aware that what they are taking is fentanyl. Hall says that’s when she realized awareness of what fentanyl could cause needed to be shared with the community.
Along with taking time to remember those who have died from fentanyl, Hall says they are accepting donations with the goal of raising $5,000 for Back’s family to help them with Back’s funeral expenses and care for his brother.
Donations can be made at the walk or through Cash App at $Fentanylawareness23.
The walk will also have food on hand and vendors selling t-shirts for the walk. Hall says they are also partnering with local health agencies and regional rehabilitation facilities to inform attendees about the harms of fentanyl and what rehabilitation resources are available.
Hall says the Christian County Health Department will be doing Narcan demonstrations and providing fentanyl testing strips and Baptist Health will also be providing information about fentanyl.
The walk will conclude with a balloon release where Hall says attendees can attach messages to the balloons for a loved one who has died from addiction.
The walk will be on October 28 at noon and will start at the Christian County Justice Center and more information regarding the walk can be found at the Fentanyl Awareness Luke’s Story! page on Facebook.
Photos courtesy of Cara Hall