Emily Lyons thinks about her two daughters' future.

She wants to make sure that if they are ever in a situation where drugs are present that they know to say “no.” And she wants to make sure their friends — and youth throughout the entire Sewickley Valley area — know to do the same.

With the opioid epidemic plaguing the nation, Lyons is doing her part to make sure parents in the Sewickley Valley are informed.

“It's one of those things everyone knows is a problem,” she said. “We just want to help people understand what's going on.”

In the last year, Lyons, 45, of Sewickley, launched “Hidden in Plain Sight,” where she sets up a makeshift teen bedroom scenario and how and where they can hide drugs.

“It's really to say, ‘This is what can be going on,' ” she said.

To further that effort, on April 10, Youth Connect and SHAPE will sponsor “Spotlight on Opioids” at Quaker Valley Middle School from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

The program will feature speakers from the Department of Justice, 6 Steps to Sanity, Allegheny Health Network, Sewickley Police and the FBI. The event will consist of short presentations, followed by a brief panel discussion.

Discussions will include:

• Sewickley resident Tonya Sulia Goodman, a prosecutor from the local Department of Justice office, who will speak about her work in building cases against drug dealers. Along with Goodman, Keith Essig, an investigative analyst at the DOJ, will share overdose statistics.

• Chico Ficerai, a 6 Steps to Sanity facilitator at area churches, will share about her son's struggle with addiction.

• Dr. Gina Goszinski, chief psychiatry resident of the Allegheny Health Network, will talk about addiction psychiatry.

• Sewickley police Officer Dave Yurkovac will talk about the borough's drug drop off box and the state's Good Samaritan Law.

• FBI Community Outreach Coordinator Kelly Wesolosky will speak about the FBI Pittsburgh H.O.P.E. initiative, which she directs.

She also hopes the program prompts parents to talk with their children about drugs.

Children in sixth grade and older are encouraged to attend with their parents.

Lyons also will set up “Hidden in Plain Sight” — however, that is not meant for children to view.

For “Hidden in Plain Sight,” Lyons spent $1,000 to recreate a bedroom scenario, that includes a blowup bed. The room can be set up in 15 minutes.

Inside the room setting, she shows how and where youth can hide drugs.

Lyons has set up “Hidden in Plain Sight” five times since last September throughout the Sewickley area, including at parent/teacher conferences at both Quaker Valley and Sewickley Academy middle and high schools and in the front window of Explore Sewickley.

Lyons said when she does this she thinks of her daughters.

“I can't just say, ‘Well, I'll let somebody else do it,' ” she said. “It's actually very rewarding.”

Stephanie Hacke is a Tribune-Review contributing writer.

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