Carbon County is hoping to save lives by investing in a fentanyl awareness campaign.

The campaign is part of funds received from the opioid settlement. Carbon County committed $200,000 to the campaign, which partners with Monroe and Pike counties.

On Thursday, Sarah Clark, owner and creative and brand strategist of Kudu Creative of Easton, presented the campaign concepts at the county commissioners’ meeting.

Kudu was hired in July for the campaign in the three counties.

Clark said that the campaign aims to target the drug problem that plagues the country.

She noted that the state has said there has been a noticeable shift from heroin to fentanyl, a synthetic drug that is 50 to 100 times more potent than its predecessor.

Clark said that the campaign will educate the youth in the communities, increase access to naloxone and training on how to administer it, provide disposal opportunities for medications and create a network for those affected by the epidemic.

The campaign will be focused on the needs of each of the three counties, with various types of messages going out on billboards, newspapers, T-shirts, social media and more.

Clark showed some examples of the concept, which included the message “Fake is real” because fentanyl can be made to look like real medications.

This message will be utilized across the county in high visual places, as well as heavily trafficked digital sources.

“Resources are so important to help spread the word and educate people,” Clark said.

Commissioner Rocky Ahner said that the partnership with Monroe and Pike is helping this campaign reach more people while maintaining a strong message.

He pointed out that St. Luke’s University Health Network, Pocono Mountain Visitors Bureau and the five county school districts are partnering in various ways to also spread the message, especially to students.

“We can be the leaders on this education for the schools,” Ahner said. “It has got to go out to the kids, the grandparents that are raising kids, parents.

“... I think it’s good that the county is signing on for this, not just Carbon, but our neighboring counties (too).”

Ahner told Clark that he hopes to begin rolling out the campaign before Christmas.

Clark said that in addition to Kudu, Jamie Drake of Carbon-Monroe-Pike Drug and Alcohol Commission will be a “huge asset” as the campaign moves forward.

“She has access to a lot of schools so she will be a valuable resource as well,” she said.

Commissioner Chris Lukasevich this new campaign is taking the “Just Say No” campaign of the 80s to the next level and will benefit Carbon County residents and visitors because it can be adjusted to target the largest group based on the products consumers are using, such as Facebook or TikTok.

He also commended Clark for the campaign that her company has designed.

“I think it’s a great tentative plan with inherent flexibility that’s going to allow us to maximize the resources we have available,” Lukasevich said. “Kudos to Kudu because it is a great start.”

Carbon County has received more than $723,000 in settlement funding and will receive another $400,000 in December.

This funding must be used within 18 months for the purpose of opioid education or the remainder of the $4.5 million Carbon was awarded as part of the $26 billion national settlement could be withheld.

Commissioner Wayne Nothstein was not at the meeting.