GIVING BACK –  

Oct. 25, 2023 – “Hopefully, they can relate and be able to see how he overcame the struggles in his life and can really help motivate them and to inspire them to do things differently,” Robinson High School Counselor Mindy Hancock said.

Students spent their class time in the auditorium as Sousa emphasized how drug use and abuse is a completely different ball game now.

“There are drugs out there that you think is just a joint or marijuana, but that is laced with Fentanyl and, then, that’s it,” Sousa said to the students. “That’s it. That was not in play when I was a kid. I would not be here if those drugs were out there on the street as they are today with you guys.”

Fentanyl-related teen overdose deaths tripled from 2019 to 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

You guys are literally on the front lines, and you have the ability to go right when you could go left, you should always want to stay in a safe place,” Sousa said.

Other school districts are also spreading awareness at a young age for students with dress-up and theme days, bracelets and activities.

READ@KWTX