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

My precious son was such a loving, compassionate soul with a smile that could light up New York City!
He struggled for so long and tried with all his might to beat his demons.
He was a loving son, father, brother, and friend to everyone.
He will be forever missed.

My husband was a star athlete in high school, loved by all. At 16, he started smoking and then selling marijuana. It quickly escalated from there into prescription pills and a life of drug fueled crime. During this time, he had three amazing children and many times found recovery. However, recovery never stayed long before the demon of addiction crept up again. My husband struggled with addiction for 20 years and the majority to meth and heroin. Shortly before passing he was diagnosed with mental illnesses, which we were fighting the insurance company to pay for the medications, which we never got to get before his passing. My husband was an amazing man whose laughter and smile could light up a room. He was so highly intelligent and wanted nothing more than sobriety and to become a substance use counselor. However, in the early morning hours of October 22, 2019, Nathan lost his battle to addiction from fentanyl toxicity. Although he may have never overcame his addiction, Nathan was and will always be a light in our lives. He will be forever loved and missed.

Peggy was an amazing person who strived and achieved her dream of becoming a registered nurse. She was amazing and loved being of service to and caring for others. Peggy was a mother to three boys, she was a daughter, granddaughter, sister, aunt, cousin, and friend. Sadly, Peggy inherited a disease known as alcoholism and addiction and her light burned out at the age of 35.

Our son, loved by all, took his own life for we can only assume his heart was too big for this world.

Tommy struggled with addiction on and off. He tried so hard to beat it and for a while he was doing so well. But unfortunately the trauma he had been through and his depression and anxiety caught up with him and he began to use again and overdosed. He always promised it would never be him, and I began to believe it. It came as such a shock when he passed away. Through it all, he had the biggest heart, no matter what he was going through he cared and worried about others. He loved his children more than anything. His family was also everything to him. He loved with all he had and I will never forget the love he showed me. He always knew how to light up the room with his contagious smile and laugh. Those dimples got me every time. He was taken from us far too soon and will forever be missed and loved by so many.

Ryan was the most loving, caring boy I knew! He was a hard worker and enjoyed life... at only 23 forever... he had a good life and was doing big things. I am beyond proud of him for whom he was and where he was going in life.

Son you are my best friend, my crutch, my secret keeper and so much more... I love and miss you more then I could ever express!

Best Son, brother, nephew, uncle, friend anyone could ask for

Curtis was with someone he thought was a friend. He was staying the night walking distance from our home and he (the so called friend) gave my son a lethal combination of drugs. He videotaped him for over five hours. Even posted video of him already gone before I or the EMT's arrived. Curtis was not your regular 17 year old in so many ways. He earned the family towing business being signed to him on his 18th birthday. He was my (his Mom) protector for many years, being a single mom to him and his brother, who are 18 years apart. He was an amazing uncle to his two nephews. His sister in law which he called sister was in his life from day one and he watched them get married before he was even 5. He helped and worked in family business since he could walk, he lived to drive and ride anything fast from 4-wheeler, his many dirt bikes, the last one being his YZ125 and he loved making his cars go faster and be louder. He just purchased his Duramax Truck, which was a dream for him but also because he loved helping his friends when their bikes broke down. He found his forever love when he was only 14 but he knew she was the one because he was ready to give her the ring on his 18th birthday. And they completed each other, his smile lit up a room and he could make you laugh even on your worse day. He was loved by so many friends that honored him daily. He had a very bright future and many dreams to make come true. A night at a friend's house cost him and us something that will never come back nor can be replaced. Not to mention receiving his high school diploma in June 2020 like he would have, get married, having kids and being an awesome dad. Getting his 350 z his grandad left him on road, helping his nanny around her house, making memories with friends, hunting with me since his granddad passed, which I loved being a part of, date night with Bree, cheering his nephews at games, giving his brother and sister a hard time, lol. His life was cut so short because of drugs and not by his choice!!!!

My daughter struggled with heroin addiction for nearly five years. She tried so hard to beat it. She loved life to the fullest! She loved her family. Her smile and laugh was continuously contagious.

My son struggled with addiction and depression. He tried to get better with our help and his belief in medicine. We believed he would always get better because that’s what he believed. He tried and tried, and things became more difficult. He became depressed and more alone. It was horrible because this was not our beautiful son. He was gifted musically, loving, caring, sensitive, artistic, and such a beautiful son. I try to remember the beauty in my son before his addictive ways. He always seemed to pull through. Our last Thanksgiving and Christmas he said was the best for him in many years. I am thankful for that and all the wonderful days we had together as he grew up. He cared more for others than he did for himself. He was a humanitarian in a true sense. He loved life and his friends and family truly. We will never be the same without him in this world. We are all heartbroken and miss him dearly. RIP BRADLEY

Cole was the brightest young man I have ever met. He helped me do CPR on one of his friends that had overdosed and promised me it would never happen to him. I sobbed uncontrollably begging him to not let it happen to him too. He promised me..... I know he wanted to live, he had so much to live for, and so many that loved him. I did not know him long, he was in rehab with my sons but I grew to love him and know he was a bright star that did not get to shine long enough!

My brother was/is an amazing person who will always be loved and missed by so many.

My husband had a smile that would light up a room. He was so kind and caring and had the biggest heart of anyone I know. He tried so hard to live for his family and fight his demons. He will forever be missed. He was an amazing husband and father.

My son was brilliant, intellectually ahead of his time and technologically advanced beyond what I could possibly imagine.
He has a four year old son and two year old daughter who will never see their dad again or see why people loved him so much.
We had suspicions but they weren't confirmed until about three weeks before his passing that he was definitely using. People tried to tell us but we didn't want to believe he was foolish enough to touch the stuff. He hid his addiction so well but once he realized we had undeniable proof he could no longer hide it.
It was evident to me he wanted to live a normal, boring life like the rest of us and work and have his kids back again.
He would do anything to help anyone and knew how to hustle to get where he wanted to be whether it was fixing cars or computers in exchange for his favorite video games or a tow when his own car would break down.
He was a prankster who loved to have fun and knew how to live life but the harder parts of his life led to his addiction to heroin.
He was doing so well and the last week he was alive he fixed us dinner and helped us out more than usual and we had some laughs. He was Roger again and even had a good job lined up.
The next day was a mother's worst nightmare. I found him dead in his room of a heroin fentanyl overdose.
I would give anything to have him back....
Rest easy son, you're no longer suffering and have earned your wings...I will love you all the rest of my life.....

My Samantha. Loved by her family. Missed by many. Sam had struggled with heroin addiction. She was given 100% fentanyl.

She was a gifted artist and had just given birth to a beautiful baby boy five months before her death.

We are devastated.

What a joy he was to have in our life. He was a great son, father, and my brother. He fought addiction since he was a young boy. He tried to overcome it, he hated himself for not being strong enough to fight the disease that took his sweet love from us! Not a day goes by we don’t think of him. Till we meet again brother, sissy will do all I can here on earth. And your kids will never forget you.

My beautiful son Joey had a generous heart and an extremely funny sense of humor. He had a magnetic personality. He struggled for seven long years with his addiction. I want to remember him the way he was prior to his struggles, and the beautiful relationship we shared. He is missed by his family very much. I think of him every minute of every day. I know he is with me always. Love you my Joey xoxo

My dad. The man, the myth, the legend. Struggled with addiction his entire life. He lived a life of drugs, gangs, and prison. Any time he could talk to me, he never let me forget how much he loved me, though. His laugh was hilarious. He was a free bird, nothing could hold him down. He fought hard. Tragically, fentanyl was what took his life. He ended up on life support. His bear hugs and smile and his pretty blue eyes are what I miss the most.

My firstborn. So funny. Great father, brother, and son.

Loving father, fiancé, brother, son, and friend. I miss his laugh, his smile, and his voice. Addiction is a horrible thing to suffer from, he said when he was not using drugs, he used to hate the person looking back at him in the mirror. He still battled demons that he never dealt with, which caused a relapse which led to his death. Did he think that would be the last time? Of course not, did he want to use? Of course not. The fact is no one does want to use, but you never know what someone is trying to escape from.

He always lit up the room when he walked in it. I miss him so much. If you know someone struggling with addiction, tell them you love them. It may be the last time you get to.

Joey was a kind, loving soul. He was my best friend as well as my son. Joey is deeply missed by all his friends and family. We love you Joey.