New Guide: Supporting the Health of Youth Who Use Fentanyl/Opioids: Information for Family & Friends
04/11/2025
The ADAI Center for Community-Engaged Drug Education, Epidemiology & Research (CEDEER) is happy to announce the release of the new guide Supporting the Health of Youth Who Use Fentanyl/Opioids: Information for Family and Friends.
This guide is available online and as a printable 12-page pamphlet from CEDEER’s website LearnAboutTreatment.org.
It focuses on two key ideas, staying connected & health and safety, and provides accurate and practical information for friends and family about how to support their youth as they navigate fentanyl/opioid use, treatment medications, and/or work toward recovery.
This guide:
- Describes the benefits and challenges of family/friends staying connected to their youth
- Provides an overview of the ways in which isolation can be harmful
- Explains why medications are the best treatment for opioid use disorder and how to access them and other types of help
- Describes key approaches to preventing overdose and death, critical information given the potency of fentanyl and the fact most recovery journeys involve some ongoing or occasional use
- Answers these common questions from loved ones: “But if I keep supporting them, am I enabling more drug use?” and, regarding treatment medications, “Are medications working if they keep using substances?”
- Includes an array of online, text, and in-person resources for support
Please share with your friends who have a young adult in their life who is using fentanyl and with health care and social service providers who work with these youth!
The three authors bring diverse perspectives:
Caleb Banta-Green, PhD, MPH, MSW, is a Research Professor at the University of Washinton’s Addictions, Drug & Alcohol Institute in the School of Medicine. He combines his social work and public health backgrounds to help develop tools and interventions that are person-centered and can have community-wide impact.
Alexis Ball, MD, MPP, is a pediatrician with addiction, research, and policy expertise. She works clinically in community health and juvenile justice facilities and is affiliated with the University of Washington School of Medicine & Seattle Children’s Research Institute.
Addy Adwell, DNP, RN, is a nurse care manager at Harborview Medical Center’s Office Based Opioid Treatment program in the Adult Medicine Clinic. She also provides consultation and training to other clinics and inpatient programs at Harborview and in the community.
We want to acknowledge the wonderful care providers who helped inform this guide with their conversations, trainings, and interviews, including Johnny Ohta, Lara Okoloko, Dr. Taryn Hansen, and Abbie Woods. Thank you also to University of Washington colleagues involved in qualitative interviews and research that helped inform this document including Samyukta Singh, MPH PhC, and Drs. Teresa Winstead and Anthony Floyd.
