SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah organization whose focus is to increase access to the drug that helps prevent overdoses has started a new billboard campaign across the entire state.
The Utah Naloxone campaign features bright yellow signs that say “Fentanyl doesn’t discriminate,” and each billboard has a picture of a Utahn who has been affected by the drug.
Just off Highland Drive in Millcreek, another billboard shares the message, “Not one more son,” showcasing an image of Russ Claiborne and his son, Derek, who died in 2020 from an overdose.
Claiborne saw the billboard for the first time on Thursday.
“I don’t see the man behind him, but I sure see my son,” Claiborne said. “He’s doing what I think he would want me to do.”
Claiborne said Derek struggled with addiction for 17 years and fought his last ten years to beat it.
“It’s just a disease that won’t let go,” he said. “You’ve got to fight.”
The numbers tell the story behind fentanyl deaths in Utah:
Derek and his dad are just two of the faces that can be seen across the state. From Ogden to St. George, the cofounder of Utah Naloxone, Jen Plumb, says the billboards represent those they’ve lost and those they could lose.
“Those of us in the family space that have lost their loved ones, we never get over this," Plumb, who is also a state senator, shared. "I want Utahns to look at these faces and feel that, feel empathy for that, and feel that they want to be a part of no further deaths.”
The organization wants to get the opioid overdose antidote, naloxone, into the hands of all Utahns, so they can help save lives.
Plumb lost her brother to an overdose nearly 30 years ago, but since then, she said the state has come a long way and changed in many different ways.
Why many child fentanyl deaths remain uncharged:
“Between 20 and 30 less people lost to fentanyl between 2023 and 2024, so those families didn’t have to bury somebody,” Plumb said. “Those families got another shot to have that person. That individual got another chance to be whatever they want to be.”
For Plumb and Claiborne, the billboards are much bigger than they seem, and an opportunity to spread awareness and save lives.
“He was such a wonderful person," Claiborne said of his son. "He loved everybody. I think this is his way of reaching out, even though he can’t be here, and if he helps one person it’s worth it."
