Voices for Awareness Facing Fentanyl
Introduces
The Colorado Coalition for Families Affected by Fentanyl™
ANDREA THOMAS
FOUNDER VOICES FOR AWARENESS AND CCFAF
Andrea Thomas is the Founder and Executive Director of Voices for Awareness , Project Facing Fentanyl and ARMOUR Families, national initiatives dedicated to raising awareness about the dangers of illicit fentanyl. After losing her daughter, Ashley, to fentanyl poisoning in 2018, Andrea turned her grief into action, becoming a leading national advocate for prevention, education, and support for affected families..
JULIE WRIGHT
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS & OPERATIONS CCFAF
Julie brings a wealth of experience to the nonprofit sector and serves as the President of the Colorado-based Maddie Wright Foundation, where she has been a powerful advocate for families affected by fentanyl poisoning. Julie’s only child, Maddie, had her life taken at age 23 with a single blue pill she thought was oxy in 2020. Julie is committed to building coalitions and working collaboratively to drive awareness, prevention, and change.
Colorado Coalition for Families Affected by Fentanyl
A Colorado,Coalition led by Voices for Awareness (VFA) and Facing Fentanyl work to educate the public about the dangers of illicit fentanyl and support families impacted by fentanyl poisoning. The Colorado Coalition for Families Affected by Fentanyl (CCFAF), overseen by Andrea Thomas and Julie Wright, provides a platform for families to connect, find support, and engage in advocacy across the state. Co-Founded by D’Ann Hopkins and Andrea Thomas—who lost her daughter to fentanyl poisoning in 2018—VFA empowers families to transform grief into action. Recognizing the stigma, isolation, and challenges families face after a fentanyl-related death, the coalition offers guidance, resources, and opportunities for involvement in prevention, education, and legislative advocacy.
VFA collaborates with federal, state, and local agencies on policy, community initiatives, and awareness efforts. The organization welcomes all affected families, emphasizing that every life lost to fentanyl matters—whether the victim was an unsuspecting individual or a person struggling with substance use. Together, these efforts aim to strengthen communities, inspire hope, and save lives.
The last year has brought some relief to Colorado’s fentanyl overdose/poisoning problem, but some measures may still be needed to erase the drug’s explosive fatality growth in the last decade. Colorado state legislators implemented stricter penalties for fentanyl possession and distribution in 2022, though those reforms have been criticized by law enforcement as not going far enough. Since the legislation’s passage, fentanyl deaths have been declining. There is evidence that similar measures in other U.S. states are producing similar results. In the Common Sense Institute’s drug overdose/poisoning competitiveness index, Colorado’s ranking decreased through the early 2020s and remained at 2023 levels in 2024. This suggests Colorado’s declining drug overdose/poisoning rates are falling less than in other states
Have you lost someone you love to fentanyl poisoning, or do you just want to spread awareness about the dangers of fentanyl?
Please contact us, and we will get in touch with you soon!
Alliances
Solving the addiction crisis requires action from our nation’s families, the government and our health care system. Together, we’re creating a unified voice to more effectively prevent substance use and treat addiction.
The FOP includes 48 state lodges and more than 2,700 local lodges, with over 9,550 members in Colorado alone. As the largest professional police organization in both Colorado and the United States, the FOP represents the most unified and powerful voice for law enforcement officers.
We have met with students, school counselors, school boards, PTAs, Scout troops, DEA agents, prosecutors, every county sheriff in Southern California, State and Federal politicians, and many more people to share and learn what WE can do to help.
Fentanyl is now the #1 cause of death for Americans age 18 to 45.
We can and must stop this — together.
Illicit fentanyl kills 187 Americans every single day – deaths are on the rise across the country.
Sign our petition if you want to stop this epidemic together!
VOID was formed to bring to the public’s attention, through education, awareness and legislative advocacy, the immediate danger of sudden death associated with the use of illicit drugs, in particular FENTANYL, and other emerging synthetic analogs.
FACING FENTANYL ™ is a not-for-profit assembly of grassroots illicit fentanyl awareness groups. We are affected families that have built organizations that address the impact of the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl and the changing drug landscape.
The Colorado Drug Investigators Association is committed to bringing together law enforcement officers and professionals who share a common goal of eliminating the supply and demand of illicit drugs and illegally diverted legal drugs.
We work to reduce supply through smarter enforcement and accountability, raise awareness by educating and changing the conversation, reduce harm with real-time interventions and safer practices, and pursue data driven justice reform for victims.