We, the undersigned residents of Yakima and surrounding communities, call on our local, county, and state leaders to take immediate action to address the fentanyl and overdose crisis devastating our families.

We sign this petition because overdose deaths now exceed car crashes, gun violence, and all other accidental causes — and fentanyl is the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 49.

We sign because our community is losing lives every day.  

We sign because Yakima deserves better.  

We sign because we do not have time.

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To whom it may concern,

My name is Michael, and I am writing to you from Yakima because my community is dying — and because too many people who should be speaking alongside me cannot.

Some cannot because they are gone.  

Some cannot because they are still using.  

Some cannot because they are exhausted.  

Some cannot because they have lost hope.  

Some cannot because they no longer believe anyone will listen.

I am writing on their behalf.

Last year, Yakima County lost over 100 people to drug overdoses — one death every three days. Washington State lost over 2,000 people. Across the United States, more than 100,000 Americans died from overdoses.

To put this into perspective:

More Americans died from fentanyl and drug overdoses last year  

than Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, and 9/11 combined.

And the scale of this tragedy becomes even clearer when broken down:

~290 Americans die every single day from overdoses.  

~12 people die every hour.  

One person dies every five minutes.

Fentanyl is killing Americans faster than any war, any attack, or any disaster in modern history — and it is happening quietly, relentlessly, and everywhere.

Public health data shows that fentanyl has now eclipsed other leading causes of accidental death:

- It kills more Americans annually than car crashes, which claim roughly 40,000 to 45,000 lives a year.  

- It kills more Americans annually than gun‑related deaths, which average 48,000 to 49,000 a year.  

And most devastating of all:

Fentanyl overdose is now the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 49 —  

outpacing cancer, heart disease, and suicide for that age group.

We are living through a mass‑casualty event — not in a war zone, not in a disaster area, but in our neighborhoods, our homes, and our families.

If this level of death came from a foreign attack, we would call it war.  

If it came from a natural disaster, emergency crews would be on every corner.  

If it came from anything else, it would be treated as the national emergency it truly is.

But because it is addiction — because it happens quietly in bedrooms, alleys, and living rooms — it is too often treated like background noise.

I am writing to say clearly: this is no longer acceptable.

Yakima has been sounding the alarm for years. We have watched overdose deaths climb. We have watched families beg for help. We have watched children lose parents and parents lose children. And despite this, our community still does not have the treatment capacity, mental‑health support, or prevention infrastructure needed to save lives.

Washington State has seen fentanyl deaths rise more than 1,000%, yet the treatment system remains overwhelmed and underbuilt. Nationally, we lost more than 100,000 people, and still we see agencies debating jurisdiction, funding delayed by bureaucracy, and responses that do not match the scale of the crisis.

This is not about blaming individuals.  

This is about acknowledging reality: the current response is not enough.

People in positions of authority often say this crisis is “complex,” “difficult,” or that “it takes time.” But the truth is simple:

We do not have time.

While leaders debate, families bury their children.  

While agencies argue, people overdose alone in their bedrooms.  

While funding gets stuck in paperwork, communities like ours fall apart.

And the people dying are not statistics. They are human beings who deserved better. Some were fighting every day to stay alive. Some were trying to get clean but could not find a bed. Some were ready for help but could not afford it. Some were alone because their families did not know where to turn. Some were children who never understood what they were taking. Some lost hope because they did not believe anyone cared.

I am writing for them.

We need treatment that exists in reality — not in proposals or pilot programs, but in buildings with beds, counselors, and long‑term recovery options. We need mental‑health care that reaches people before they break. We need support for families who are carrying this burden alone. We need prevention that begins early — in schools, community centers, and homes. We need leaders who listen to the people living this nightmare every day. And we need addiction treated as the medical emergency it is, because we cannot arrest our way out of a public‑health disaster.

But even if government does everything right starting tomorrow, we still have to save ourselves.

Our community must talk to our children honestly and early.  

We must stand with families fighting this battle every day.  

We must rebuild community so people do not fall into isolation.  

We must support recovery instead of shame.  

We must reduce demand — because that is how we collapse the supply chain.

If we heal our communities, the cartels lose their power.  

If we reduce demand, the boats do not matter.  

If we take care of our own, we save lives long before the law ever catches up.

And to those who feel hopeless — those who do not believe they have a future beyond this reality — I want to say:

You are not alone.  

You are not forgotten.  

You are not beyond saving.  

You are not beyond loving.  

You are not beyond hope.

If you cannot stand up right now, we will stand up for you.  

If you cannot speak, we will speak for you.  

If you cannot fight, we will fight for you.  

If you cannot believe in tomorrow, we will believe in it for you until you can.

Your life still matters.  

Your future still matters.  

And we are not giving up on you.

This crisis is killing American families. We cannot wait for the world to solve it for us. We cannot wait for governments to catch up. We cannot wait for laws to change. We cannot wait for someone else to care.

We must act — together, on the ground, one person at a time.

No more excuses.  

No more delays.  

No more pretending this is not happening.  

No more waiting for help that is not coming fast enough.

We do not have time.

Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter.

Sincerely,  

Michael Mondragon  

Yakima, Washington