USA First Lady Dr. Jill Biden and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff

Dear First Lady Teresa Parson,
I am an Ambassador for the Drug Epidemic Memorial Wall and desire to see one in Missouri. My
son, Keenan Schott, was 30 years old, just four days before his 31st birthday, when he ingested
fentanyl and died on July 19, 2021.
He was a college graduate from Truman University in Kirksville, Missouri. He graduated with a
double major in Philosophy and English. He was named outstanding Philosophy student at
graduation. He returned to Wildwood, Missouri and found a job working for a local grocery store.
He worked his way up into management, saving for six years, and bought his own home.
I think people have a misunderstanding about who dies from fentanyl. It is a cross-generational
and cross-economical problem. People with families, jobs, and homes are dying every day.
Mothers, fathers, grandparents, wives, and children are losing loved ones, and it is devastating.
I have two children, an older daughter and my son, Keenan. Although he was 30, he was my baby
boy. We had an extremely close relationship, and his presence is missed greatly. It would be
impossible to imagine but consider for a moment what it would be like without one of your children
or grandchildren. No one wants to think about it, but there are over 100,000 people every year in
the United States who must live with this crushing reality.
Drug deaths, that have been reported, were 106,000+ in 2021. In 2022, 109,000+ were reported.
This is a phenomenal number of United States citizens. Every day in our country 298 people die
due to fentanyl poisoning. Just imagine a passenger airplane crashing every day. The citizens of
this country would be furious. And, yet where is the outrage over the loss of these precious family
members, like my son?
This group of Missouri mothers would like to see a Memorial Wall of frames that Missouri citizens
can observe. This visual display would be very impactful and real. These are working, educated,
and loved citizens that have been tragically removed from our presence by a poison called
fentanyl.
Please consider meeting with us to help us have our missing family members recognized as
victims of this fentanyl epidemic. It is a terrible sight to see the faces of these wonderful young
people who have died. Fentanyl has become the leading cause of death for persons aged 18-45.
We are losing a whole generation of citizens to this devastating epidemic. We need to make
Missourians aware that this is happening and is prevalent all around them.
Thank you for your time,
Mrs. Lizzy Schott - Keenan’s mom; forever 30
Wildwood, Missouri
599