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

Bradley was my only child. We had an incredible bond. He was a kind, generous, funny, and loyal person. He was kind to animals and children. He struggled with his addiction on and off for several years, going in and out of jail. This seemed to change him as I saw this beautiful, bright child's light get dimmer and dimmer each time he came out and he seemed to have this overwhelming sadness that got worse each time. He craved love that he just couldn't seem to find in this world, a love that I could not seem to fill. It saddens me that he left this world feeling so sad and with such darkness in his heart. I think the addiction made him feel so sad and lonely. He just couldn't see all the people that loved him so much. I just wish he would have had one more chance to pull out of the devils grasp and feel the warm love of his family and the lord Jesus Christ. I can only hope that he can feel it and see it now. Fly high my one and only!

I met Jessica in rehab. We were both fighting terribly hard to get our lives and our sanity back. She always told me I was her mentor and inspiration, but she was also my inspiration. I had never met someone so sensitive to the feelings and well being of others. I often thought that maybe her sensitivity was in fact the root of her addiction. Jessica felt so deeply and most of the time didn't know what to do with those strong feelings. She was the last person I hugged when I left for the halfway house I was assigned to. I got home March 22, 2019 and spoke with Jess, for what would be the last time, on March 27th. She was in such good spirits and seemed to have a clarity about where she was in her recovery. I told her I loved her and couldn't be prouder of her. Then life started happening for both of us and on April 20th I got a message that she had overdosed on heroin and was gone from this world to a better, heavenly one. I was absolutely shocked and devastated. My heart broke into a trillion pieces for her family and for this world. We truly lost an angel on earth that day.

Savannah, beautiful, smart, talented, kind, loved animals, loved her family, always a smile, and a really big ❤. She had lots of love to give and was very trusting, fun, and energetic. She always listened but never judged. But all the words, all the adjectives, and all the pictures and postings won't bring her back to us. God has her now and she lives among his angels and she walks on the streets paved with gold. She shares that beautiful smile with other loved ones who have gone on before. How much I miss her and wish I could have done something to convince her that addiction might some day take her away from us and we would never be the same without her.

My daughter, my first love, my reason, my Hannah.
Her struggle began at a very early age. She began using at 15. By 18, she had been to rehab seven times. A few months before losing her battle she asked to go back again, but unfortunately she never made it back to treatment.
On Valentine's day this year she overdosed alone, in a parking lot.
She was so much more than her disease and wanted to live a sober life and tried so hard.
Hannah was a bright, loving, beautiful soul who could light up a room with her smile and contagious, loud laughter. She never met a stranger and had a love for music.
She lives on through her selfless gift of organ donation.
I'm so very proud of you my beautiful brown eyed girl.
I miss you every minute of every day.
I love you more,
Mom

Best friend, brother, son, uncle.
Beautiful soul.
An Angel Bohemio.
Will always remember him for his loving soul, his transparency, his intellect, his artistic gifts, his love for his family and friends, and also his strength through this battle. He’s healed now and resting victoriously in God.

Morgan was a beautiful, smart, and gentle soul. She was loved and loved her family. Unfortunately, she battled anxiety and opiates made her feel what she thought was normal. She started with pills then later heroine and meth. Her boyfriend provided it. He is now in jail. She recently went to detox and rehab. One more time took her life as she died of a fentanyl overdose. I have a piece of her left as I will be raising her precious baby boy. We miss her everyday. A hole will forever be in our hearts.

My son was a very bright guy with a charismatic personality. He struggled with addiction since he was very young though had many sober years, off and on. He was raising his daughter by himself for his last eight years. He got an infection in his back that the hospital didn't diagnose until it covered 70% of his spine. Long story short, he relapsed and overdosed. The hospital only gave him two doses of Naloxone, which wasn't nearly enough. My precious son passed away of a fentanyl overdose. He loved riding motorcycles, fishing, playing guitar...most of all he loved his daughter who is now 12 years old. My son was a welder and loved it. Thank you for allowing me to share a bit of his story 💔❤💔

Adam was a wonderful son, father, brother, and uncle. He is so greatly missed. He was the glue that kept our family together. We struggle to find our way without him. Kind, gentle, giving, loving but tormented by his disease. I pray he's found peace and struggles no more. Until we meet again my son, still and always, I Love You More. 

My son struggled with PTSD. We didn't know how much he was depressed. The thing I miss most is his playfulness with me and seeing his beautiful face.

My uncle always struggled with addiction. He used to live with my grandma and she'd get so tired of his BS that she'd come drop him off at our house. Sometimes he'd be so messed up, he'd be crawling up our steps to the front door.
I remember one time yelling:
"Aren't you tired of this?! Don't you want to see your son??? Do you want him to grow up doing the same stuff?"
I just didn't understand at the time the strong grip that drugs can have on you especially heroin. I battled it for 12 years and I'm so glad I was able to get sober finally. I just wish that my uncle would've been able to find the peace and happiness that comes from finally getting sober and being FREE!!!!!!

My son Austen was such a kind, laidback, no drama type of guy. He was a mommas boy for sure. He loved to play soccer and was a star goalie. He loved to ski and would ski backwards and stick one leg in the air. I never knew how he could do that!! And he had one heck of an arm. He could throw a mad fastball and was just all around a great athlete. He worked hard every day but sadly he had an addiction and died from fentanyl. I will never forget my awesome amazing son.

Larger than life. Loved and missed by all who knew him. xoxo

Jen was my last baby. I had two sons and a baby girl to complete mine and my soulmates family. She was a wonderful little girl who loved life and living until she was introduced to heroin. When her grandfather died, she was 14. There were two limos, one for the adults and one for the kids. She was so upset. We were a close family and she loved her Pop. He had been sick for quite awhile. Her cousin, whom she looked up to since she was nine or 10, told her she knew how she could feel better. Now mind you, her cousin was around 19 at the time. She took Jen from the limo into her Mom's bathroom and introduced my baby to heroin. After many trials and tribulations and some recovery time mixed in there came a time something terribly tragic happened to her, something she couldn't get over something that gave her PTSD and nightmares during the day.
She shared it with me when she was about 22. Her uncle, my brother, had raped her, I said, "When?' She said, "It was awhile ago." I asked, "Why didn't you tell me?" and she said, "Because it was my fault." I said "What???" She said, "I was high and made myself available." I said, "I don't care if you were high for a month and laid out spread eagle naked every night, the first time he should have folded you up, and brought you home, for God's sake, he was your Uncle, it is all on him, let's call the cops." She said no it was too late, and she didn't want to start stuff and who would believe me? I said, "You got seven years, did he do it before you were 18 because then you have a lifetime." She said it was after she was 18, and I thought good, cause if not I would be going to jail, because I was going after him. She never would call the cops, but she never could get it out of her mind and it ate her alive. I told her he was dead to me, she said, "I didn't think you would believe me." I said, "please call the cops." She never did. A few more years of going through hell and her father and I decided to leave the house we had brought all our babies home to and raised them in. A house we had lived in for 37 years. We told Jen she was more then welcome to come, sober. Jen had lost so many friends to this epidemic the only friends she had now were her drug friends, but she didn't leave at first. After a year she overdosed, actually on Christmas, she came to live with us in the new house after that and straightened out for the longest time ever. She got a good job, she bought a car, she was really doing good. A year went by, I thought she had kicked this thing. About six months after that I noticed she was acting differently, so I questioned her and she said, "You are watching me too closely mom I'm fine, everything's good." I thought I was overreacting. Three months later I knew she was drinking and I confronted her. Of course she denied it, but I knew. Two months after that we got the call, they had found her in her car with the needle in her arm. She had bought heroin, or so she thought, but someone sold her straight fentanyl. The police still call it a homicide. 11/21/18. Now I live every day without her, my baby, my girl, my life. Her brothers, her father, her children live every day without her. Life as we knew it changed on that day before Thanksgiving 2018.

Samantha Nicole born November 16th, 1995 and Jaxsen Michael both died November 3rd, 2018. I would like to shed light on the Samantha that we all know and love! Trying to end the stigma and show the world that all lives matter! You see, I know two people here, I know Sam, and all the bad that came with an addicts behaviors, and I know Samantha, my sweet innocent baby girl! During her journey in life, she was very smart and intelligent and active in extracurricular activities in school! It took her just one time to try a drug that forever changed our lives. During her addiction we fought with law enforcement, judges, states attorneys, probation officers, parole officer rehab centers, you name it! At no point did we not try and fight for her life when she just couldn't anymore! During this journey we learned that things need to change and fast. Samantha's journey taught me to love people no matter what and be less judgmental towards the human race! You see my struggle as the parent of an addict. We tried so many ways to help as she fought just as hard. The rehab system sucks! Yes I know they have to want the help. Well I watched as my daughter wanted the help, I mean deep down didn't want to live that way anymore...but the cravings and the mind control and the physical pain outweighed that want in the end. We got her on vivatrol and it helped save her, until in August 2018 we found out she was pregnant and was due in January 2019. At that point even though the OBGYN said baby was fine and healthy and ok'D her to remain on vivatrol throughout the pregnancy, her primary doctor said they would no longer prescribe the vivatrol shot knowing it was saving two lives....4 more shots and baby Jaxsen would have been born! I lost my only child and grandchild in the blink of an eye! Please keep in mind every life matters! #justiceforsamnjax

BreAna was the most beautiful, smart, affectionate, and hilarious daughter a mom could ask for. She was a lover of people, and was welcoming to all walks of life. She was a great leader and protector, a loving sister and daughter.

In her mid-late teens, Bre was diagnosed w chronic pancreatitis, which introduced her to pain medication. Soon after, she began taking prescription Xanax to help her sleeplessness and anxiety. She had also began taking medication for depression. Xanax was her drug of choice.

Over the years, she became addicted, and was unable to deal well with the stresses of losing her great-grandma, becoming a parent, and separating from the love of her life. After a very tough year or so, two of her addictions clashed, and she passed away of combined drug toxicity (benzos and opioids).

She left behind a huge community of grievers, friends who would remember her as someone who would sit with them in their darkness. She left behind six younger siblings and a two-year-old son with the banshee spirit, just like her.

I did not understand everything when she was alive, as I do now, and for that I am very sorry. However, I believe that by being willing to talk about her story, others will be saved.

#breanalandforever 💜🌻

Josh was a smart, giving, loving person. He has a love for God, family, and friends. This world is broken without him here. Forever lo♡ed and forever missed.

A friend who was more like a protective big brother to me--as the 3rd anniversary of his death approaches, I’m taking the time to reflect on all of our fun memories together, and learning to forgive myself for feeling guilty that I could not do more for him. I honor his memory by constantly working to change the stigma surrounding mental health and drug addiction in my community.

On January 4, 2019 the world was robbed of a beautiful soul. Vanessa was a second grade teacher, a wife, a daughter, and a sister. She was a giver. A bright place in a dark World. The broken were drawn to her comfort. The sick craved her healing nature. The sad craved her smile. She was an aunt to a little girl who desperately needed her. And she was an addict.
In a series of circumstances, intoxication being the key component, she got on the freeway going the wrong direction at 330 a.m. At 339 she was pronounced dead. At that moment the universe changed. We will never be the same.

Chad was the funniest, most handsome, and kindhearted person I’ve ever had the honor of knowing.
He had a quiet calmness about his spirit that I know a lot of people admired.

There is not a day that goes by that I do not wish and wonder what if and if only.

I love you Chad and I know you will never be gone. Just not visible for a while.
Find the peace and rest that you are so worthy of my love.