Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson utilized platform X, previously referred to as Twitter, to express his appreciation for the local organization Saving Others For Archie, which arranged an event centered around addressing the opioid crisis. The event took place during last weekend’s Lake Country Dockhounds baseball game.
“Tragically, fentanyl overdoses have dramatically increased in WI over the last five years,” Johnson said. “A sincere thank you to Lauri Badura and her incredible organization, Saving Others For Archie, on this outstanding event. The scourge of fentanyl must be defeated.”
The August 7th game featured a two-minute educational video presented by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, along with the distribution of 200 “SOFA Hope” bags. These bags included fentanyl test strips, a Wisconsin Harley Davidson t-shirt adorned with a SOFA HOPE Archie wristband, and other related items, according to CBS 58.
SOFA (Saving Others For Archie) is a local Wisconsin organization established by Lauri Badura following the accidental Fentanyl overdose that claimed her 19-year-old son, Archie. Badura has become a nationwide advocate for eradicating the stigma surrounding mental health and opioid addiction. She is also affiliated with the “Stopping Overdoses of Fentanyl Analogues Act (SOFA)” and hosts annual events like the Jump For Archie every May. Additionally, SOFA often collaborates with entities such as Waukesha County Health and Human Services, NAMI of Waukesha, WisHope, Waukesha Community Foundation, and more, according to SOFA.
According to findings from the Forward Analytics study, fentanyl overdoses have resulted in the loss of over 4,000 lives in Wisconsin, particularly impacting the 25-34 age group. In the previous year alone, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration seized 379 million potentially fatal doses of fentanyl in diverse formulations. Despite being a prescription opioid for pain relief, fentanyl is often illicitly combined with other substances, including illicit drugs. Alarmingly, an incredibly tiny dose of just two milligrams of fentanyl can lead to lethal outcomes, according to WISN.
“Illicit fentanyl continues to devastate our communities,” said Wisconsin Rep. Bryan Steil, according to a press release from May. “Illicit fentanyl is the leading cause of death for individuals aged 18-45. Current law fails to treat fentanyl with the seriousness that it deserves. This is a common-sense step to address the increase in fentanyl-related overdose deaths we see across Wisconsin and give our local officials the resources they need to keep these dangerous drugs off our streets.”
