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

Brandyn was a quiet, good kid. He loved roller blading and skate boarding. He absolutely loved me, his sisters, his family, and his friends. He was extremely loyal. Loved drawing and graffiti. He became addicted to pills then heroin at 16! Brandyn fought for five years. He fought long and hard. Earned his GED in recovery. Many detoxes and rehabs. However, he kept fighting. He lost his battle on February 13, 2017, in Yonkers, NY. He was alone and out in the cold when he was found. He is missed dearly by me, his two sisters, and everyone. His continuing to fight his demons has made me extremely proud and I'm lucky to have called him my son for 21 years. Forever in our hearts!!

She was a loving mother, daughter, and sister. Always the life of the party. Had a laugh that no one could forget. Struggled with her demons as a young person and overcame. The fight resumed and the battle was lost. Now she doesn’t have to fight anymore. She is tremendously loved and missed everyday.

Eddies first addiction was alcohol beginning in his teenage years. He made it through and graduated with an associates degree, then went on to the police academy. He graduated from the academy but could not find employment as a police officer. He always worked in construction since his teenage years so he got into the union and worked hard.

He was that type that had an addictive personality, from drinking to gambling to working out at the gym. He sometimes worked two jobs because he could never leave his first boss hanging. He was such a great friend to so many. His never turned his back on his childhood friends, the bond was unbreakable.

He had suffered with a back injury since high school but managed to get through, and then came the Percocet. We had no idea. Then he found a doctor and his new addiction with pills began. He hid it well. Finally, we found out and he went for treatment. He did well for years and then had a car accident and back came the Percocet and then it led to Xanax.

The heroin came when the doctor cut off Percocet. We called his primary who was giving him Xanax and explained the situation but he continued to prescribe it. We begged and they wouldn’t listen.

He had a pregnant wife and needed to work so he did. Then the withdrawal came and he turned to his friends and they introduced him to heroin. He hid that well until his first overdose--that is how we found out. A frantic call from his wife.

In less than 18 months he had a total of four overdoses and three rehabs. We finally thought he was getting it. Worked his program and had a great sponsor and had just passed 90 days. He was returning to work a new job with his old company on July 1, 2017. June 29, 2017 the call came that there was something wrong. He had overdosed and this time it cost him his life.

He leaves a devastated family, a wife and child. His cause of death was Cocaine toxicity and Xanax! In his car, from his family doctor, a prescription of Xanax, 60 pills with 5 refills. Empty bottle.

Our lives have been changed by addiction, but I work to help those parents and those suffering with addiction by educating the community. I work with a nonprofit and we do an Overdose Awareness Walk & Memorial Walk. It started five years ago with 150 people, and in 2018 we had an estimated 10,000.

Thank you for all you do Shatterproof! Shatter the Stigma!

Love you and miss you

Love you and miss you

Eric was more than his addiction. He was a son, brother, nephew, grandchild, cousin, and friend. He was a musician, an intellect, and a young man who wanted to live. Our loss is the worlds loss.

He was my only boy and my middle child. He was bright, creative, and very loving. He loved the outdoors and believed in the good in people.

Tommy's Journey

Although he struggled with depression and addiction for most of his adult life, he always tried to fight his way out of his own internal suffering. Even when he felt like giving up on living, he continued his fight to live.

Except for the very brief but intense relapse that ultimately took his life, Tommy was 18 months free of heroin. At the time of his passing, Tommy had successfully and consistently created a content and meaningful life in recovery from depression and gained freedom from the drugs that enslaved his life. He aspired to become a college graduate and planned on attending college this fall to study horticulture and sustainable agriculture.

Tommy grew up in Lunenburg, MA. As a youth he enjoyed playing hockey, baseball, golf, and especially skateboarding. Most recently, he enjoyed spending time in nature and aspired to attend college in the fall to earn his degree. As a skilled green thumb, he never met a plant that he didn't like and consequently plants loved him right back!

He was dedicated and committed to working on his physical, emotional, and especially his spiritual, well being. He was successfully becoming the change he wanted to see in the world.

He was an avid seeker of knowledge and wisdom. He loved learning about ancient knowledge and all things mystical. He loved and deeply appreciated both art and the artist. He began exploring his own artistic expression.

Tommy was an old soul who was wise beyond his 26 years. He could light up a room with his smile and fill it with the most inspiring energy. Those who knew him understand that he was a warrior, philosopher, and leader.

He embraced his complicated experiences and suffering and utilized them to become happy and healthy. He enjoyed the clarity of mind his strong intellect and spirit thrived on! He shared his experiences to connect and assist loved ones and strangers to heal and cope. He offered kind words and sage advice to help alleviate the suffering of others within their own internal journeys. His motto was to always "Plant the Seed" of love and hope!

Although the devastation and pain of losing Tommy's presence in our lives is a tragedy filled with brutal iron, we will be forever grateful and proud of the profound transformation he had achieved and that he was able to experience a life he felt was worth living for a time. He was more than just a loving son and brother to us. He was our friend and hope. He was truly a Pheonix!

Ryan and I met in 2012, both of us were sober. Ryan had just been released from prison and was living in a halfway house. He was happy to be sober, working and making the necessary changes to better his life. Ryan was an outgoing, funny, loving and compassionate man. His smile would light up the rooms of every place he went. Ryan had a great love for animals, and motorcycles.

If you knew Ryan, you knew him as a man who was always telling jokes and loved to make people laugh.

It wasn't a secret that Ryan was a person who struggled with a substance use disorder, or that his use created legal consequences that put him in prison, taking away 8 years of his life. There wasn't too many that seen the darkness that he kept hidden behind his substance use, the struggle with depression, anxiety and the added guilt for the pain his family had gone through because of his substance use disorder. For me, I knew the feeling of his struggles, because I had been battling my own with substance use, and for that reason I chose not to see Ryan as a person with a "drug problem" but for the person he truly was, a man who was loving, caring, compassionate and made me smile. The stigma that surrounds substance use disorder keeps society from seeing them for who they truly are, someone's loved one, someone's son, daughter, son or daughter.

Everything in life has changed since the day Ryan died. They say in time, the pain gets easier. But almost 3 years later, I am still waiting for the pain to get easier, as it still feels like it was just yesterday that he was taken away. But Ryan made me promise that if anything ever happened to him, that I would not let him be forgotten.

So today, I take the pain and turn it into gratitude for the 5 1/2 years that we shared together, because in those 5 1/2 years, we created some of the most beautiful memories that now have become my treasures.

It is in his honor and loving memory, that I will continue to share his story and advocate in the fight to end the opioid epidemic.

No family deserves to suffer the devastating pain of losing a loved one to an overdose.

R.I.P. My Beautiful Angel.
Love Always,
Anne

It's just too painful to go into. Suffice it to say he was a good person, loved by all. Ian would give his shirt to help someone. He just couldn't seem to help himself. He always had good intentions to stay clean but was easily tempted. Once he was clean, he realized all he had compromised and it was overwhelming for him. I now believe his addiction started with two hand surgeries in two years when he was a senior in high school and first year of college. He had so much potential and just couldn't believe it.

An amazing woman. A beautiful, generous, loving, radiant mom, sister, daughter, aunt, girlfriend, and friend. I miss her every day. Her obituary (below) is loving and factual. Her spirit was - and is - abundant and never ending. Her heart will forever beat in mine!

Lori J. Fresh

Passed away in her home unexpectedly on Tuesday, November 13, 2018, at the age of 45 years. Beloved mother of Justin and Brooke Fresh. Cherished daughter of Susan Joseph (the late Thomas Scharnek) and the late Steve (Shirley) Joseph, treasured twin sister to Lisa Collins (fiancé Rich Young) sister of David (Jeannie) Joseph, Tammy (Steve) Zyduck, the late John Luebbers. Adored aunt of Ben, Jeremy and Melissa Zyduck; Amber (Chet) Kosciolek, David and Dustin Joseph; Palma Collins, Luke Collins, and Trey Young. Lori is also survived by many aunts, uncles, cousins, family members, friends.

Lori was born and raised in Burlington, WI, and was a 1992 graduate of Burlington High School. Afterwards she moved to Florida where she had lived for over 25 years. In that time she earned her graduate certificate in Respiratory Therapy from Pinellas Technical College and also owned her own Medi-spa. In 2015, she returned to Wisconsin to be with her mom and focus on her own personal and physical health. While she battled addiction, each time she fell she always got up and never gave up. She had finally met a great person and best friend who was genuinely showing her the good life while being sober. Lori enjoyed her last months being lifted up, protected, guided, completely adored and loved by her boyfriend, Jeff Plale.

Lori’s mission to make it back to Florida to her children and her twin was a goal she had always used as her strength.

Lindsay Ann struggled with her disease for 10 years. She hated it and hated that she struggled. She was sober for over a year when she relapsed and took a fatal dose. In those 10 years she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. She loved her daughter more than life. As we all know, the disease of addiction will suck you in no matter who you love. I struggle every day with her loss. I miss her with every breath I take.

Jason died from a heroin overdose. He struggled for many years with opioids and then heroin. Through it all he always had so much love for his family and would help anyone. He was all muscle but a mommas boy. A huge teddy bear with the hugs to go with it. He loved his baby girl and wanted to have a family. He is missed so much. ❤️

My son was a wonderful kid. Had a happy childhood, was loved by everyone who knew him. Was a great soccer, hockey, and lacrosse player. Even played college hockey for a short time. That’s when his addiction went too far. Started with a surgery at 15, he said that pain pill was like a lightbulb went off. Best feeling he had ever felt. Never knew he had this issue until a year before he passed. I know he tried to beat this and believe he was starting a few weeks before his death. He was a blessing to everyone who knew him. Was loving, kind, funny, and thoughtful guy. I would say one of the best humans I have ever met. I am honored to be his mom.

Steven was bigger then life...he had a big...kind heart he wore on his sleeve...he traveled with carnivals...he loved his job...he fought this disease since he was about 22 years old...he was clean for five years...going to meetings...speaking at meetings...he loved getting in front of people taking the stage...he had a real gift for making people feel comfortable...he ended up using again after five years clean...he had endocarditis from the heroin and ended up having open heart surgery replacing one of his valves with a metal one...that was in october of 2015...in December of 2016 he was in Miami and found out...on Christmas day...he would have to have another valve replaced from using again....on Jan 1 2017...he took his last hit of heroin...it was laced with fentanyl and carfentanyl...he was put on life support and on Jan 5...I had to make the worst decision of my life...I had to take my first born child and only son off of that damn machine that was breathing for him...he passed over...very peacefully at 5:31 am on Jan 6...Steven has two sisters...2 nephews and 2 nieces...I will miss him forever...

Brandon was one of my middle children (he has a twin sister). He was quite a character, known for his great sense of humor and his self-taught ability to program and fix computers. When he was 13, he was practicing soccer on the field, fell, and shattered his elbow. After emergency surgery to pin the bones together, the doctor started prescribing Oxycontin. I was not aware of the dangers of this drug and when my son ran out of his Rx, the doctor prescribed more and we kept filling it. This went on for a few months. I was naïve to the start of his addiction. I was unaware of his battle and life went on. Everything seemed so bright as he and his twin headed to college together. He loved his independence, learned to cook, made friends, and found a job, but his addiction was escalating. Soon he was injecting heroin and getting in trouble with the law. After his arrest, during his second year of school, he dropped out and eventually moved back home. His addiction was out of control and our family was in complete turmoil. Finally, we sent him to his second detox, rehab, and he did remarkably well. He became very involved in sober living, was productively employed, and eventually he saved money for a car, but most importantly, he was truly happy. For 2-1/2 years, he was clean and content and repaired his relationships with the family. He met a young lady, fell in love, became engaged, and moved out of state. He no longer had a sponsor or meetings, and became isolated. His fiancé became pregnant, but with relapse after relapse the relationship ended months before his baby was born. 2-1/2 months after her birth, gainfully employed and three months clean again, my son relapsed for the last time. The needle he injected had 100% fentanyl. He lost a 13 year battle with a demon, but I won't let this disease define him. He was an amazing man, loved life, sports, the outdoors, but most of all his family. RIH my sweet boy.

My son had traveled around the world. One summer he went to Namibia, Africa, to help children there set up organized sports. It profoundly changed him.
He had no idea of how gorgeous and talented he was. He could cook like no one his age and would often create his own recipes.
He loved his family and animals. Nik loved to make people laugh.
After addiction started robbing him of life, his shame and guilt became even worse. He tried so hard and wanted to live sober. He relapsed, recovered, and repeated. Addiction doesn't care what you want.
I will not let my son be defined by addiction. My heart is broken and the pain is unbearable at times. I will be Nik's warrior and do whatever I can to spread the word, teach, talk, scream about the evils of addiction.
I will never be ok again. He was only 23.