The National Addiction Memorial honors the loved ones we’ve lost.

My daughter was a beautiful soul that struggled for the last 10 years with addiction. She did not die of an overdose, but from the abuse her body endured. I love and miss her terribly. Krista Nicole momma loves you more than you ever knew❤️

My beautiful mother struggled with mental illness and addiction for all of my life. She got sober so many times and then would fall back into old ways. It was heartbreaking to watch her struggle because she would have given me her last breath on earth when she was sober. For years, she was doing amazing and thriving in life. She helped me raise my son for the first seven years of his life and they were as close as close could be. A back injury led to pain killers and then to a downward spiral of alcohol and heroin use. My Mom went out on her own after divorcing my dad and met a guy who made her think she couldn't live without him. He ruined the rest of her life. She was in and out of jail, homeless, and even I had to cut her out of my life for a while because it was so toxic. She wasn't even at my wedding because she was nowhere to be found for months.
After her last arrest this year she went to rehab and was doing well, or so we thought. This man who ruined her had left the state and we were working towards rebuilding our relationship as mother and daughter. Then on her birthday she met up with this guy and went to the city to get high. My Mom overdosed and went into massive cardiac arrest on the train home, on her birthday. He left her for dead and by the time anyone noticed she was uncomfortable, she was already brain dead. I never got to say goodbye to my Mom, I never got to wish her a happy birthday this year, I never got to tell her how much I loved her that morning.
My beautiful mother is now at peace, I hope, and no longer struggling with her demons. I just hope she knows how much I miss her and thank her for making me the strongest person I know.

Dannyray was the sweetest man I know. My son battled addiction for most of his life and overdosed from methadone and fentanyl. Danny was a wonderful father and husband and son. He left behind 4 children ages 2, 3, 5, and 9 and a wife Rachel. He also had one brother and two sisters. If I could help save even one child from addiction I will feel I honored in my son's memory. We love and miss you son more then words could even say. RIP Dannyray forever 33....

Shane was my second born, but my first son. He had finally gotten sober but relapsed due to depression. He was finally getting his life back together. I miss him every day and would do anything to have him back. He was amazing at beat boxing! He had met an amazing girl who was pregnant and he was going to adopt the baby. She just had her daughter on December 5th and gave her my son's last name with my blessing. He would have made an amazing dad!

My husband BILLYGENEHAMMONDS went missing due to drug addiction. Still no recovery of his body. I tried saving him but my love wasn't stronger than the love he had for the drug...I lost him. But I'm not giving up on him and will continue to be his voice and fight to find him.

Billy was my first son and I loved him so much. He had been struggling with addiction from heroin for 20 years. He lost his fight and it breaks my heart that he couldn't beat it. No mother should have to say goodbye to her child. It leaves such a hole in my heart that will never go away.

My baby sister was a beautiful person. She worked really hard and did an awesome job.
She was physically abused more than 18 years of her life, which led her to having major neck surgery and she was prescribed pain pills. She also had a psychiatrist who prescribed her meds. She eventually was able to switch to different kinds of meds and started seeing a counselor.

My sister ended up having two more neck surgeries and the last one left her in a lot of pain and her doctor over-prescribed her medications. Enough meds for three people. Two heavy narcotics probably totaling more than 500 pain pills in a month and Xanax and Valium.

She passed away from falling asleep at the wheel of her car and getting into a head on car crash where she died instantly. Thankfully the other women walked away from the accident with minor bumps and bruises.

If she wasn't given so many medications she wouldn't have been able to misuse her prescription drugs like she did and she would still be with us.

Eric had an addiction for years. Heroin was the drug of choice when he went to jail a year ago. I picked him up on Friday morning at midnight and Saturday morning I found him overdosed in his bed. Everyone assumed it was heroin but the toxicology report listed only cocaine and fentanyl in his system. He passed from an acute fentanyl overdose. I miss him so much every day.

Funny, shy, loving. Had depression and addiction to alcohol and drugs. A precious life gone too soon. I love you, brother.

He was loving, I miss his big hugs. He was so funny, made everyone laugh and fall in love since he was brought into this world. Unfortunately he did not know he'd be a daddy on October 28th 2019 to a beautiful boy named Azriel Daniel Andade, his little twin.. I miss him so much still, but I got to keep being strong for my other five children and my husband. They are my world, all I have to live for.

Michael struggled with Heroin demons for years, it was a battle he couldn't win. I believe the Lord stepped in that morning and took all Michael's pain away. He was my nephew, best friend and my sunshine when I needed him. Lately it's been very dark for me... I love him like my own and pray to see him someday 🙏 in Heaven.

He loved with his entire heart and he believed in everyone. He never judged and always made friends no matter where he went. He never cared what others thought and always stuck up for the underdog. He was so talented in anything he did... anything he touched turned to gold! He impressed people wherever he went. Inside of him was gentleness, kindness, and goodness that lit up his bright blue eyes even in his darkest moments. He loved his family more than life itself! He fought his demons for 10 years. God saw his constant struggle and finally gave him peace. He overdosed on a fentanyl laced bag of heroin one month shy of his 40th birthday. I will never be the same, a piece of me was gone forever the day I lost my brother!!! We love miss u more then u will know Joey!!!

David's addiction started after his motorcycle accident. He was prescribed pain medication like they were candy. But once he was cut off by his doctor, he realized he was addicted and turned to buying off the street. Pills were getting harder and more expensive to find, heroin was cheaper and becoming easier to find in our area, so heroin won. He struggled to get clean. he had a daughter on 01/11/15 he wanted to be a father to. He struggled, he got clean. Later he succumbed to his demons and fell so deep he lost his life on 06/12/2018.

Cory was a loving, caring free spirit, always willing to stop everything and help. His addiction was only one part of him. It did not define the man he was. He was a son, a father and a friend. He left behind my beautiful grandson who looks like him as time passes by. He worked hard and played hard also. He is missed everyday by myself and my Chace. Forever in our hearts 💞. Chace and i love you, son. ❤️🙏😇😘

Micheal struggled with anxiety, depression and addiction. He was clean for 10 years and in the past 3 years he struggled with relapses. His final relapse killed him on my birthday. Micheal was a good son, had a heart of gold, loved me so much, and even through his own pain. He helped others. He loved drawing, photography, music, gaming and he loved his dog, Kesia. She was with him when he overdosed. Poor baby misses him. But she's our baby now and she's a part of him. I will love and miss my beloved son the rest of my life. I miss his love, face, hugs and his laugh. He's free now, my boy is free.💙 Love, "Moommmy"

My son suffered from depression, alcoholism and drug addiction. His on and off girlfriend of over 20 years is crushed. He has a daughter who will be 8 this month who misses him a lot. They always had fun together.
He went to rehab for heroin and fentanyl addiction. He was never the same after that week. He saw a psychiatrist and was given meds for depression and sleeping pills because of nightmares due to the meds he was given in rehab.
He did not go back to heroin and thought he had everything figured out. He did really good for the first month and a half after he got out of rehab because we did not let him out of our sight. Then we had to let him go. He felt like a caged animal. We gave him his car and he promised he would be ok.
He started hanging around the same people again and ended up overdosing on fentanyl. The saddest part about it is he was with a girl that would not call 911. She called 3-4 friends asking what she should do. They all said call 911. She waited until he died to call. They will not prosecute her because she did eventually call.

She fought with everything she had, Amy never wanted to leave me alone. I love her with all my heart.

My sister Jimmie Jo was an amazing, wonderful woman. Very intelligent and beautiful. She could put a smile on your face no matter what. She would brighten up a room when she walked in. She was a very funny person.
Even though life knocked her down a lot she still carried a smile on her face. She was the best sister, daughter, aunt, and mother. She was very well known everywhere. She will never be forgotten.

My father was awesome and he will be forever missed. One thing about dad is he never passed judgment on anyone. And never turned his back on me. I was an addict in and out of jail and prison and my dad never turned his back on me. My father was an alcoholic, he drank everyday and if he didn't he was moody. For as long as I can remember my dad drank beer and jack Daniels. He went to rehab a few times but it never helped. My dad had just got out of rehab 6 months before he passed, but only because it was court ordered. He completed a 6 month program. And the day we picked him up the first thing he did was drink a beer. I loved my dad with all my heart. He was my best friend. I guess I didn't notice that he was sick and he never told me he was. I knew he had cirrhosis, I just felt it, 'cause how can a person drink everyday for almost 40 years and not. I just didn't expect him to go so soon. My father lived in Santa Fe and I live in Albuquerque. He would come back and forth for doctors visits, holidays and occasionally to visit, and I went to Santa Fe to visit as well. It was going on almost a month and I hadn't heard from my dad. I was calling and calling, having people go knock on his door and nothing. Finally I had to call the landlord to go in and check, and that's when my world collapsed. They told me they found him on the kitchen floor and I still to this day feel wish there was something I could have done to change it. When I drove out there and entered my fathers apartment there was blood everywhere like he bled out from the back. I really didn't understand. I thought someone hurt him. He was bleeding from his head as well. My dad was drunk when he started to bleed out from the back. He was losing a lot of blood and stumbling all over. He fell a couple of times, that caused the bleeding from his head. I tripped out cause there was so much blood. Apparently he got light headed from the loss of so much blood and that's what caused his stumbling and falling. It just breaks my heart cause I wasn't there and I didn't even get to say goodbye. On his death certificate it said the cause of death was due to massive ethanol consumption, which was due to his drinking. I just expected him to live forever.

First born child of my oldest daughter.
Grew up into a world of drugs that controlled him & his mind. An intelligent & interesting young man. Just got in with the wrong friends & thought it was the easy way. Drugs, jail & prison were his life for years. The demons haunted him.
He had made a choice to go straight & had so many plans. Had moved in with his Mom. Spent time with all of us. It was so great.
His fatal mistake was spending his time with old friends over the weekend.
As he planned his new life he took ONE LAST FIX OF HEROIN. For him life was over.
Our lives have changed forever. We were left with nothing but that empty question - WHY?? He was & will always be loved.
You never know when you will lose that special person, so love love & more love to those who mean the world to you. They are your world.
Gone but never to be forgotten.