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CALSPRA Conference 2023

March 1 @ 8:00 am – March 4 @ 5:00 pm

Chris will be a panelist at The Fentanyl Epidemic in Schools session, Friday March 3, at CALSPRA Conference 2023

Chris and Laura Didier, Zach’s parents, will share his life story and the everlasting impact of fentanyl. This panel will draw from Zach’s tragic story in Rocklin Unified that highlighted the scope of the problem and how the epidemic is spreading throughout schools. The presentation will showcase how both Rocklin Unified and Riverside Unified are prioritizing outreach efforts to organize educational campaigns to combat fentanyl use and partnering with mental health programs to assist students with root causes that may lead them to drugs.

This presentation will highlight the role of increasing mental health issues, social isolation and domestic stressors, socio-economic inequity, and how social media has become an avenue that has made fentanyl readily available for purchase by children and adolescents in perpetuating the issue of drug use among children and adolescents and in schools.

Conference Website

Jaime Puerta is a United States Marine Corps Veteran, and the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Puerta & Associates, Inc.; a small Interpreting business that specializes in furnishing Certified Interpreters to Attorneys, Doctors, and Courts working within the Workman’s Compensation field in the State of California. He resides in Santa Clarita, California, with his wife Claudia. Jaime is also the President of V.O.I.D., "Victims Of Illicit Drugs", a California 501C non-profit dedicated to educating parents and children about the dangers of illicit drug use, and also about the dangers that abound on social media platforms. Jaime also sits on the Advisory Board of A.C.C.O. "The Alliance To Counter Crime Online". Jaime became involved in the fight against Fentanyl when his only son Daniel passed away due to Fentanyl Poisoning on April 6, 2020.

Jaime is an avid Harley Davidson enthusiast and rides his motorcycles whenever time permits him to do so.

Steve Filson was raised in Huntington Beach and has been a resident of San Bernardino since 1976 when he relocated there after his service in the U.S. Air Force. He retired in 2009 after a 31-year career with the San Bernardino County Sheriff and San Bernardino Police Department. Steve is the owner of a private security company and is a staff member of the Public Safety Academy, a public charter school in San Bernardino.|

Most importantly, Steve is Jessica’s Dad. Jessica was his 29-year-old daughter killed in Redlands on January 22, 2022, along with her boyfriend, Nicholas, due to fentanyl poisoning. Steve lives in Highland, California, with his wife, Cheri, and their five-year-old granddaughter, Elara. He and other bereaved parents formed V.O.I.D., “Victims of Illicit Drugs,” as a California non-profit corporation and dedicate their efforts to education and awareness of this fentanyl scourge confronting our society.