PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — The City of Tampa is teaming up with state leaders to take down fentanyl traffickers.
They are partnering with the state in a program called State Assistance for Fentanyl Eradication, or S.A.F.E.
The city is receiving up to $250 million to reimburse agencies, like Tampa Police, for fentanyl investigations.
"When they ding, making a lot of noise and talking…letting us know they are there…but there's times when they are real quiet," said Marcey Schneider, a local mother who lost her son to fentanyl.
The sound of wind chimes gives Schneider comfort these days.
"So, I'm just reaching for anything…a piece of whatever I can get of their life now," said Schneider.
She said it's been a year since police found her son, Kevin, and his wife, dead from a fentanyl overdose.
"I was down the street, I was scared, and when the officer came out, and he shook his head like this, I knew," said Schneider.
Now, Schneider takes every opportunity to keep her son's memory alive.
"Kevin was just a great uncle, a great stepdad, a loving son, he was at my beck and call…a mama's boy," said Schneider.
She said fentanyl is now impacting other people she loves.
"I had heard of it before and its been around for a while, but now its out of control," said Schneider.
Local leaders said fentanyl is becoming such a big issue in the area, and today, city leaders took a step to combat the issue.
"Were not going after so much the guys who are selling the gram amounts, we are looking to target the folks who are bringing in the kilos and the pounds of this poison that are, you know, just devastating our state," said Mark Brutnell, with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Officials said the money from the program will go towards things like overtime, new equipment, and special techniques used to track down traffickers.
"I think, you know, we just need to close the book on this in some way," said Schneider.
Schneider said every agency in the state needs to be involved in the program.
"Don't take street drugs, don't take drugs that aren't prescribed to you because you never know what its going to do to you," said Schneider.
Now, as the City of Tampa takes the next step in the fight against fentanyl, Schneider is too... spreading a message that a drug is never worth your life.
"I'm here to say it's the hardest thing any parent has to go through, and not being able to say goodbye or see him… it's just too much," said Schneider.
A state report says hundreds of frail elderly nursing home residents were stacked side by side, head to toe in a small church with no working air conditioning or refrigerator during Hurricane Helene.
