Parkway East billboard features faces of people killed by fentanyl to raise awareness about drug's danger

A billboard along the Parkway East a few miles east of Pittsburgh shows the faces of 92 people with a tragic connection.

All of them died of fentanyl poisoning.

“The fentanyl crisis is only getting worse in our country, and it’s not getting the coverage it needs to educate people, to warn parents and families,” said Adrienne Sautter, co-founder of the Ohio-based nonprofit 4 Them We Fight.

“It’s not just affecting one socioeconomic area. It’s affecting all ages, all races and cultures.”

The nonprofit, formed this year, is comprised of mothers who have lost children to fentanyl. It uses its nonprofit status to get billboards for public service announcements at a discount. It also looks for businesses or individuals to sponsor the signs.

Families who have lost loved ones to fentanyl then split the remaining costs to place a family member’s photo on a billboard, sometimes for as little as $10 or $25, Sautter said.

Other billboards have appeared in Ohio, California, Colorado and Nevada, Sautter said. The one in Western Pennsylvania has been on display throughout August.

In addition to the billboards, Sautter said the nonprofit has used running boards on mobile trucks with digital advertising screens in states including Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina, Kansas and New Jersey.

Ashley Morabito, who died of an overdose in June 2018 at 24, is one of the people pictured on the Western Pennsylvania billboard.

The man who sold her fentanyl-laced heroin was sentenced to 4 to 8 years in prison for his role in her death.

Her mother, Deborah Morabito of New Kensington, said she has been trying to stay in touch with organizations that raise awareness about the dangers of fentanyl. She reached out to 4 Them We Fight about a spot on the billboard last month.

“My goal is to help spread awareness,” Morabito said. “It’s basically wiping out an entire generation.”

Sautter, of Toledo, Ohio, said she lost her son, Jayden Miller, to fentanyl in August 2021. He was 19 when he decided to “experiment” with what he thought was a percocet pill but was actually fentanyl, his mother said.

Sunday marked the first National Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day, Sautter said.

“We really want people to pay attention, to help us fight, to take this crisis seriously, be vigilant with their families and loved ones,” she said.

Sautter warned that fentanyl’s prevalence seems to be getting worse.

“There aren’t second chances anymore. The drug supply is contaminated with fentanyl — and it’s only getting worse,” she said. “There are kids out there who are experimenting. They don’t know any better. They don’t know that trying one pill could cost them their life.”