MUSKEGON COUNTY, Mich. — Hundreds of middle and high school students gathered in the gym to listen to Greg Swan and Robert Kiessling on Wednesday at Holton High School.
The two men are both fathers and have both lost children of their own to fentanyl overdoses.
Both of them honor their sons through preventative education.
"My sons were poisoned by fentanyl in 2020 on the same night," said Kiessling, father of Caleb and Kyler Kiessling. "After going through several years of just recovering from that and going through the grieving process, I was ready to go out on the offense and make purpose out of the pain and out of my boys' lives."
Swan co-founded Fentanyl Fathers after he lost his son Andrew to fentanyl in 2013.
Sharing their stories with students, along with a film titled "Dead on Arrival" and a presentation, they look to teach students about the dangers of fentanyl and the deadly ramifications that can come with taking non-prescribed drugs.
"A father's duty is to prepare kids for life, and with Fentanyl Fathers, their mission is to get this message out to every high school across the United States," said Kiessling.
"We show them how to use Naloxone to recognize and respond to an overdose and then we measure their ability and lift in their ability to recognize, respond to an overdose and to avoid fentanyl at all costs," said Swan. "Because kids are being tricked into it."
The DEA said 2 milligrams of fentanyl is potentially fatal, and that 70-percent of the 107,941 drug related deaths in 2022 were caused by fentanyl and other synthetic opioids.
According to the CDC, most fatal cases are linked to illegally-made fentanyl that can be mixed with other drugs.
The DEA said in its 2024 National Drug Threat Assessment that "fentanyl is the nation’s greatest and most urgent drug threat."
“The shift from plant-based drugs, like heroin and cocaine, to synthetic, chemical-based drugs, like fentanyl and methamphetamine, has resulted in the most dangerous and deadly drug crisis the United States has ever faced,” said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram in a press release.
Milgram said the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels are at the center of the crisis.
Swan said they hope to empower students to resist peer pressure and to make potentially life-saving decisions if they encounter offers for drugs on social media that can be laced with fentanyl.
"I hope they walk out here knowing they have choices and to be prepared for that moment comes," said Luke Tyres, Dean of Students at Holton High School. "It's not if, it's when, so when that moment comes, be prepared."
"They'll live long, productive lives and then the passing of our own kids will matter that much more because we were able to make their lives count," said Swan.
For more information about Fentanyl Fathers and related resources, click here.