Voices for Awareness | Facing Fentanyl


Raising Awareness in Our Communities

Voices for Awareness Foundation is a licensed and registered nonprofit organization
bringing awareness to illicit fentanyl, counterfeit drugs and elated to self-harm.

“A drug of mass destruction”: Fentanyl deaths surge in Colorado, reaching an average of two fatalities a day

A recent law that makes the possession of 4 grams or less of a “controlled substance listed in schedule I or II, a level 1 drug misdemeanor,” rather than a felony, is drawing criticism amid national conversations about fentanyl deaths.

“A drug of mass destruction”: Fentanyl deaths surge in Colorado, reaching an average of two fatalities a day
In 2018, an average of 9 Coloradans a month died of fentanyl overdose. In 2021, the monthly average is 64.


The eggs sat on the counter and the potatoes waited in the pan for a late-night brunch as Ashley Romero died.

She took half a pill that appeared to be a prescription painkiller offered to her by a trusted person. Romero had chronic pain her entire life from pancreatitis. When she was really hurting, she would sometimes take half a pill prescribed to her by her doctor.

Andrea-Thomas

Critics want fentanyl to be removed from 4 gram law

A recent law that makes the possession of 4 grams or less of a “controlled substance listed in schedule I or II, a level 1 drug misdemeanor,” rather than a felony, is drawing criticism amid national conversations about fentanyl deaths.

HB19-1263, which went into effect in 2019, was a way of addressing the overcrowding effect in the state’s jails by switching minor drug possession offenses from felonies to misdemeanors.

The average cost per inmate in Colorado was $39,303 as of 2015. As incarceration rates climbed, many being substance- related, some people felt that HB19-1263 would help to curb those growing incarceration numbers.

Proclamation for Mental Health Awareness Month May 2019

Voices for Awareness founders Andrea Thomas & D’Ann Hopkins are presented with the May 2019 Proclamation from Mesa County for Mental Health Awareness Month L-R Mesa County Commissioner John Justman, Andrea Thomas, Mesa County Commissioner Rose Pugliese, D’Ann Hopkins & Mesa County Comissioner Scott McInnis
Voice for Awareness Mental Health Awareness Month proclamation
Opiod Abuse-rival-gj-sent_orig

Women Start Foundation Aimed at Curbing Suicide, Opioid Abuse

D’Ann Hopkins, left, Andrea Thomas, middle and Chuck Thomas, right, stated a foundation called Voices for Awareness to raise awareness in Mesa county for mental illness and drug abuse.

Fentanyl awareness advocate shares her story in an effort to save lives

Giving Voice to Victims

Carrie Luther
San Francisco, California

Lisa-Hicks

Lisa Hicks
Dacula, Georgia

Andrea-Thomas

Andrea Thomas
Grand Junction, Colorado

Affected Families Advisory Board Members Partnership for Safe Medicine