The Hastings City Council recognized the devastating impact of fentanyl and drug overdoses on local families during its Monday, Aug. 17 meeting, proclaiming August as International Overdose and Fentanyl Poisoning Awareness Month.
The proclamation recognizes National Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day on Aug. 21 and International Overdose Awareness Day on Aug. 31. It calls on residents, schools, organizations and faith communities to remember those who have died, support people in recovery and work toward a safer and better-informed community.
Bridget Norring, founder of the Hastings-based Devon J. Norring Foundation, accepted the proclamation alongside other families who have lost loved ones to overdoses and fentanyl poisoning.
Norring founded the organization in memory of her son, Devon, who died from fentanyl poisoning at age 19.
“At the time that Devon passed away, it was something that nobody knew,” Norring told the council. “We didn’t know about it as a family.”
That lack of knowledge has driven the foundation’s mission to bring education, prevention and awareness into the community.
“Our goal and our mission has always been to get as much education, prevention and awareness into our community because we have lost so many amazing children and young adults, as well as adults,” Norring said.
The proclamation states that 994 Minnesotans died from drug overdoses in 2024, with fentanyl involved in 602 of those deaths. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid described in the proclamation as being up to 50 times stronger than heroin and frequently consumed unknowingly.
The crisis has also directly affected Hastings. According to the proclamation, four members of the Hastings community died during the past year from overdoses, fentanyl poisoning or both.
Those deaths are “a sobering reminder that this crisis reaches into every neighborhood, school and family,” the proclamation states.
Council members took turns reading portions of the proclamation before Mayor Mary Fasbender formally made the declaration.
The proclamation emphasizes that overdoses do not occur only among people with a substance use disorder. They can also involve someone mistakenly taking too much prescription medication, a teenager experimenting with drugs for the first time or a child accidentally ingesting an opioid.
Many fentanyl-related deaths occur when a person unknowingly consumes counterfeit pills or other drugs containing fentanyl, underscoring the need for greater public education and awareness.
Norring said many individuals and families in the community continue to struggle and need access to appropriate support and recovery services.
“We want to make sure that they’re getting the services that they need and that they deserve,” she said.
She also spoke about the need to reduce the stigma surrounding substance use, addiction and fentanyl deaths. That stigma, she said, can make it more difficult for families to talk openly about their experiences and for people who are struggling to seek help.
Norring said the foundation wants “to erase some of the stigma around what has happened here to our children and our community members.”
She cautioned that fentanyl poisoning can affect any family.
“What happened to my son can just as easily happen to somebody else’s,” Norring said.
The Devon J. Norring Foundation has worked to educate the public about the risks of fentanyl, particularly the danger posed by counterfeit pills that can resemble legitimate prescription medications.
The proclamation also recognizes the work of families, educators, first responders, public health professionals and community advocates who are attempting to prevent overdose deaths, connect people with recovery resources and support those grieving a loss.
Fasbender encouraged residents and community organizations to join together in remembering those who have died and supporting those in recovery.
The proclamation asks Hastings residents to commit to creating “a safer, more informed and more compassionate community.”
Norring thanked Fasbender and the council for recognizing the issue and the families it has affected.
“The support means a lot to not just my family, but all of the other families impacted here,” she said. “Thank you so very, very much.”
For Norring and other families at the meeting, the proclamation was more than a ceremonial recognition. It was an acknowledgment of the lives that have been lost, the people who remain in recovery and the continuing need for education in a crisis that has touched families throughout Hastings.
“We have so many people still struggling, families still struggling,” Norring said.