“We want to identify specifically how it’s affecting Mesa County,” Thomas said. “We’re going to the public to ask their assistance about how they’re affected by fentanyl.”

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid about 80-100 times stronger than heroin, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency. It is often added to or disguised as heroin, which leads to overdoses.

“It’s found in basically every drug today,” Thomas said.

Thomas co-founded Voices for Awareness following a personal tragedy.

In 2018, her daughter, who struggled with addiction, died at the age of 32 after consuming pills containing fentanyl.

The man suspected of providing the pills was convicted of drug charges related to the death of a Carbondale man in April 2021.

Thomas has made the fentanyl and prevention awareness initiative her mission ever since.

Voices for Awareness is going to start two focus groups, Thomas said, one of which has been directly affected by fentanyl and one that is random. Those groups will give Voices for Awareness a better idea of what people are seeing regarding the fentanyl situation in the Grand Valley.

“We’ll have a well-rounded picture of what’s happening here,” Thomas said.

Thomas noted the group is targeting illicit fentanyl off the street, and not medically prescribed fentanyl.

Thomas said her aim is to eventually work with local schools to help stop the problems before they even start.

The group doesn’t have a name or centralized message as of yet, Thomas said, but she has been working with the message “one pill laced to kill.”

Fentanyl is a problem all over the U.S., Thomas said. In September, the Drug Enforcement Agency released a Public Safety Alert warning people about a sharp increase in fake prescription pills containing fentanyl and Methamphetamine.