Today we’d like to introduce you to Juli Shamash.
Hi Juli, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I am a former elementary school teacher turned stay-at-home mom. After tragically losing my 19-year-old son Tyler to fentanyl in October 2018, I became an advocate in an effort to prevent overdoses and drug poisonings. My family and I formed the Drug Awareness Foundation. We give fentanyl awareness presentations to schools, parents and professional groups, as well as getting middle, high schools and universities to provide lessons about fentanyl poisoned drugs to their curriculums and orientations. We work on distributing fentanyl testing strips and Narcan in the community, get local landmarks such as Los Angeles, Beverly Hills and West Hollywood City Halls, Staples Center and LAX to light up purple for Overdose Awareness Day, and fund billboards and bus ads to warn the public about fentanyl poisoned drugs. I have done numerous T.V. and print interviews, both locally and nationally to help bring attention to the fentanyl crisis. I am on three working groups, to try to come up with ways to address the growing fentanyl crisis. I am one of the driving forces behind the legislation, SB864, Tyler’s Law, which requires every hospital in California to test for fentanyl whenever they order a standard five-panel urine drug test. On August 22nd, 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB864, Tyler’s Law and it went into effect on January 1, 2023. I am now working on getting Tyler’s Law passed federally. It was introduced in 2024 and again in 2025 with bipartisan sponsorship in both the House and the Senate.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has been difficult to get some of the school districts to realize that it is critical to inform the kids about the dangers of fentanyl. We had been trying for years to get into certain districts to do our presentations and tell our stories. Even though we don’t charge, they were resistant to use our services. Last year, we were finally able to get into many of the schools we had been trying to for years.
It has taken a lot of work to get Tyler’s Law introduced federally and to get as many cosponsors as we have. It is an ongoing effort to try to get it to move out of committee.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
What sets Drug Awareness Foundation apart from others is that we never charge for our services. We are all volunteers and none of us receive any form of compensation.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
I’ve found that the most meaningful connections come from joining groups and attending events with other parents who have experienced the same loss. I make it a priority to accept every invitation to speak or host a booth whenever possible, only declining when I have an unavoidable scheduling conflict.
Pricing:
- We accept any and all donations. No amount is too small
Contact Info:
- Website: DrugAwarenessFoundation.org
- Instagram: @Drugawarenessfoundation
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drugawarenessfoundation
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juli-shamash-62733112
