Editor’s note: This story was produced for the independent Mosaic Journalism Program for Bay Area high school students, an intensive course in journalism. Students in the program report and photograph stories under the guidance of professional journalists.
Facing a fentanyl overdose crisis among teens, Bay Area high schools and nonprofits are finding ways to both save them from overdosing and prevent substance abuse by giving out medicine and changing their approach to drug education.
The crisis is ravaging the Bay Area, with San Francisco alone predicting 774 drug overdose deaths by the end of 2024 — roughly three times more than in 2017, according to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of San Francisco.
One group fighting this crisis is the California School-Based Health Alliance, a statewide non-profit organization that has partnered with eight high schools in the Bay Area to promote the use of Narcan, a medicine that can temporarily reverse the effects of an overdose and potentially save a life.
But Narcan is still not available at every school. Sierra Lau, school health project director of CSHA, said some parents may worsen the problem by not facing the reality of the issue.
“They don’t really understand or know what it’s for or ‘it couldn’t be my child,’ ” Lau said.
Supporters of Narcan distribution programs are trying to make the medicine more accessible to schools, students, and parents. Narcan is free and can be obtained anonymously.
“I think having them on board and recognizing the value and importance of having it accessible for young folks is one of the key drivers of success,” Lau said.
Santa Clara High partnered with the CSHA to hold a drug prevention conference, at which the school distributed 800 cans of Narcan.
According to the Columbia University Department of Psychiatry, untreated mental health concerns make a person more susceptible to substance abuse. Marcel Reynolds, director of strategic communications and membership at CSHA, similarly emphasized the importance of schools addressing mental health as a way to prevent teen substance abuse.
“Depression, anxiety, these things are a driver for students who might want to use substances or self-medicate,” Reynolds said. “We really advocate for all schools to have behavioral health and primary health services on campus.”
Gregory Shelby, principal at Santa Clara High School, said the campus community prioritizes mental health.
“We’ve been doing a lot of work around social emotional learning and doing interventions with students about general drug awareness,” Shelby said. “Through our wellness center, we’ve been able to hold quite a few drug awareness events for students who had some degree of exposure to drugs, and … that’s so far proved relatively effective in reducing future drug use.”
SCHS has recognized the importance of staying up to date with their methods considering that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has reported a rapid increase in depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation in recent years.
“We’re always looking for new opportunities to help our students as the needs of students are changing over time,” Shelby said.
Santa Clara High is making a major shift in education by moving away from conventional punishment methods to tackle the addiction crisis more effectively.
“There’s been a significant change in attitude in our school and in our district. It used to be primarily based on punishment: detention, suspensions, expulsions,” Shelby said. “We are now trying much harder to work on a SEL (social and emotional learning) perspective with students in order to change their attitudes, and we have so far found that to be more effective than traditional consequences.”
Sonia Mankame is a member of the class of 2026 at Santa Clara High School. Maxwell Alexander is a member of the class of 2025 at Silver Creek High School in San Jose.