MONROE COUNTY, Pa. — Jennifer Weiss of Reeders and her family have felt the impact of the fentanyl crisis firsthand. Her brother Ben passed away in August of 2018.
"He struggled for 15 years or so before that with addiction, and he eventually passed away from a fentanyl overdose," said Weiss.
That's why her family's business, the Pioneer Diner in Mount Pocono, is helping out the Monroe County District Attorney's Office in the fight against fentanyl.
Take-out boxes are now sporting 'Fight Fentanyl' stickers.
"It needs to be talked about getting these stickers in people's homes hopefully will get people talking. Why is this fentanyl sticker on my food? What is fentanyl? Let's just talk about it and break down that barrier and talk about drug addiction," explained Detective Kim Lippincott.
Detectives with the Monroe County District Attorney's Office are doing everything they can to warn people about the dangers of fentanyl.
"We're almost not seeing any heroin anymore. We are seeing more so fentanyl, and it is very dangerous. We are seeing a lot of overdoses and overdose deaths, and we are putting in the good fight to try to save lives," said Lippincott.
A fight so many families in Monroe County are not alone in.
"It's a fact it's not as uncommon as it is common for fentanyl to take lives of young people and even older people, my brother was 41 years old," said Weiss.
The Arlington Diner in Stroudsburg is also part of the campaign to bring awareness to resources available to those struggling with fentanyl addiction.
"This is something that is plaguing our society and anything that we can do to help bring awareness to it I feel like its an obligation to the community and humanity in general," said Arlington Diner owner, George Halas.
The District Attorney's Office hopes to expand the Fight Fentanyl campaign to other businesses in the county. To learn more, click here.