DRYDEN, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) -- It's a message that no parent wants to receive in their inbox: a local school district warns families and staff about a vape pen found with fentanyl in it that a student in the area got hold of.

Although the student was not enrolled in Dryden Central School District, the student was close enough in mileage that the district thought the risk was too close not to send a statement.

These TCH pens found with fentanyl have become a growing concern among experts and educators nationwide, becoming more dangerous and common. One of those educators who was a former addict, Michael DeLeon, says he has over 100 cases across the country where law enforcement has detected fentanyl in vapes.

For years, Michael has been on a mission to end this crisis. He has traveled to schools across the nation to spread awareness and inform students that this is real and extremely dangerous.

"An unsuspected kid puts a vape in their mouth to hit their vape, and it has fentanyl in it, they're going to die if someone's not nearby with Narcan," says Michael DeLeon

When educating, the Steered Straight founders remind families, students, and educators that this is scary and happening daily. He reminds parents that they don't need to scare their kids because scaring them won't work.

DeLeon says the best way is to educate them, empower them, and steer them.

"This is going to get more common, more common than ever," said DeLeon, reminding that "We're going to see more unlicensed selling vapes and we're going to see more counterfeit and rogue vapes sent into this country."

So, his advice to parents is to start talking to their children and make it known that one hit could kill.

"The three most dangerous words a parent could ever utter are not my kid because it's never your kid till it's your kid. Prevention through education is the key," said DeLeon.

For more information to better educate on this crisis, you can head over to his website, Steered Straight.