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

Chris was a loving son, brother, uncle, nephew, and friend. Chris' first love was music. He played in several bands in middle and high school, mostly as a bassist, and then took up guitar later in life. Chris loved all music and had amazing taste. He would lighten the lives of others with music recommendations, mixed tapes, and his enthusiasm for discovering new bands. During high school, his first jobs in the restaurant industry led to a discovery of a talent for (and love of) cooking. Chris could whip up gourmet meals out of nothing. He had multiple jobs as a chef and thrived in the witty, fast-paced, and snarky environment of the restaurant kitchen. Chris also loved gaming, and would often stay up all night playing and listening to new music. He was a talented photographer and loved taking emotional photos of abandoned buildings. He was a loved, brilliant young man whose enthusiasm and laughter lit the lives of anyone lucky enough to have met him.

Chris struggled, like so many others, with addiction. From his mid 20s he was in and out of rehab, but had many good years that give us something to hold onto. Chris was a stubborn and strong-willed man. But ultimately he was unable to conquer his disease. Long term remission eluded him and he died far too young at age 32.

We, Chris' surviving family, wish that addiction did not come with a stigma. We want people to recognize this affliction as a disease just like cancer, depression, heart disease, or vascular disease. Personally, as an emergency physician, I see addiction everyday. More importantly, I see it in those without the resources to help themselves. Thrown aside by a society that offers them no support. Chris had support. He had a family that loved him and made it financially possible for him to seek treatment. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough to save Chris. But it could be for others.

For Chris' memorial, his family asks that you donate to change. Change in the way we as society perceive the disease of addiction, and change in the support we offer these people who are someone else's brother, sister, son, daughter, uncle, nephew, even mother or father. We choose to remember Chris under the light of hope that our society, together, can conquer addiction.

Matt struggled with demons for several years before he finally lost his battle, it was devastating & traumatic to lose him the way we did. I miss his smile, his unique way of making me feel so special, his creative & talent passion for music, his hugs.... So many things we lost on that day. I am thankful to be a part of Shatterproof & have the opportunity to somehow reach out to others who are struggling or families who are grieving.

Zakk was a beautiful person!!! He had two beautiful boys that were his whole life. Zakk has a sister and a brother who were his heart. Zakk was an amazing person and a wonderful friend to all who knew and loved him. He had a smile and a laugh that could brighten the darkest of days!! He will forever be loved and missed by many. 💜

Phil was so special in so many ways. He demanded all the attention in any room. The reason we run as the “Heart of a Lion” team is simple. Even when his addiction was at its worst, one thing always came through. His heart. No matter how dark of a place Phil was ever in, he would eventually show his true colors. He could be so sweet and caring.

It seemed at times he wanted nothing more than to beat his addiction. Up until the very day he passed, he was helping his friends struggling with addiction, telling them they were strong enough and they would beat it. Because that’s who Phil was. Even at that point, he put others before himself.

We also miss Phil’s sense of humor so much. So often we find ourselves wishing we could talk to him one more time just so he could spin whatever the situation one more time. To hear that WOOOOOWWWW again or talk about LeBron, Eminem, Harry Potter, or the Cowboys.

Phil was also very self conscious about his addiction. And that is why we we participate in Shatterproof's mission. To remove the stigma from a disease that does not discriminate. The stigma stops people who need help from getting the help they need.

We love and miss you so much Phil.

Your struggle was long but you always had Hope, you never let go of that. The system failed you but you always marched through everything. I am going to miss your big laugh and most of all those morning calls: "Mom, what's the plan"?

💞"Gone too soon💞

He was a bricklayer and a hardworking man. He was a great man with a heart of gold. A wonderful fiance, father, grandfather, brother, and uncle. We miss everything about him. Our lives will never be the same. I never imagined that day we would never see him again. Always on our minds and forever in our hearts. We miss him terribly.

Tony was a great person. He was talented, smart, and loved to be outdoors. Tony loved camping and hiking. He could fix anything. Tony marched to the beat of his own drum and was a force. Everyone loved him. Tony will be desperately missed.

We came from a family of domestic violence. There are four of us (myself, two sisters, and only brother Ricky who was only 9 at the time and the youngest). June 1975 our world was changed forever due to our Dad shooting and killing our mother. We went to live with our mothers sister (our Aunt) who had five kids of her own. Every since that day Ricky never seemed to be able to stay out of trouble and it just escalated from there. Now we know longer have him with us. None of us of course ever got over our childhood, especially Ricky. He just never seemed the same. Drinking, going to jail lots of times, and at some point the drugs started. Now we know longer have him with us. The four of us had a rough life and now one of us is gone. Hard to deal with it.

My son was a very caring and loving person. When he was high, it was the worst times to be with him. He was in and out of all rehabs that I could have put him in. Stood sober for maybe three days and then went right back to his addiction. He first started smoking pot and then turned to pills. When he couldn't find money it turned to heroin. I did not know he was doing heroin till the last rehab. He was sober for 14 months. I did feel he needed to stay longer but the courts felt he did his time and was all good to go home. Only a mother knows their child. After he was home for one month I thought I was wrong. He was doing good, got a job, and went to night school. Then the nightmare came. He went out but came home at a normal time. We fought when he came home, I said things I should have not said. The next morning went to work and at 1:00 my husband call to tell me he passed. He was the most amazing child. Miss him so much. He lost out on seeing his niece and nephew be born. But I know he is with them.

Memories of Hannah

She was incredibly smart; graduating in the top 10% of her class in high school; and cum laude from La Salle University.
She was incredibly sensitive. She loved animals and wouldn’t hurt a thing. She had a dog named Peanut and a cat named Fiddle.
She was raised with love on every side of her. Her father, her mother, her grandparents.
She was an only child and grandchild, so yeah, she was a tad bit spoiled at times.
She was an accomplished violin player who won many awards and played violin on the radio.
She loved to joke around and laugh.
She loved to play jokes on us, especially her mom, and throw cold water on me when I was taking a shower.
She once made up a song as a child called apple picking is my sport, sport, sport.
She would go to any length to help people, like any length. She gave away her money to help and she gave her entire self.
She took care of her disabled dad growing up and that’s what made her want to become a nurse.
When she was a baby her hair literally stood straight up and there was nothing I could do about it!
She loved the Grateful Dead. Her father taught her well!
Once when her heart was broken by a dumb boy we drove around at midnight looking for an open Taco Bell and a place to get ice cream.
She was a terrific writer and actually got 90s and above in math for years and years in school and college.
When she was six she once “cleaned” my car with a brillo pad and was very proud of herself! I told her she did a great job and gave her a big hug. (true!)
We read To Kill a Mockingbird together one summer and had many deep discussions about prejudice and racism. She never cared who/what anybody was. If you were nice and you accepted her, she accepted you.
She loved her father and his loss tore her up inside. She never wanted to do drugs. She just didn’t know how to deal with her pain.
She always wanted to please her momma. We were part of one another.
She tried so hard, so hard, so so hard. She fought with literally everything she had until she couldn’t take it anymore. She didn’t know how to really reach out for help.
She would tell you all, DO NOT GIVE UP. YOU CAN DO THIS. You can get to the other side of this.
And the final thing I want you to know about Hannah is this: She brought my life love and light and no matter what we went through, even to the bitter end, she was my pride and my joy, and I was beyond proud that she was my beautiful Hannah Rose.

Alecia was a beautiful soul in and out. Her addiction started with pain pills prescribed for medical conditions. In the beginning, it was not obvious. When I had to go for open heart surgery in Nov. 2009, Alecia couldn't handle seeing me on life support. She made a very horrible decision to numb her pain and use heroin. That would be her biggest, most tragic decision and cause her to fight for her life. Alecia was very open about her struggles. Out of the six years from start to finish, she was sober for six months three times as well as for a year and a half. She was very proactive about helping others to sobriety as well as willingly going herself for treatment. Her last treatment was what sealed her fate. She was not properly cared for and was neglected by those that were supposed to be helping her. The tragedy of losing her has impacted our entire family,friends, loved ones. She is forever on our minds and is a missing piece of a puzzle in our lives. There are no words to describe the heartbreak and pain of losing such a beautiful child. Alecia was very open about her battle with addiction and kept journals with her thoughts. I will be her voice until my last breath. Fighting for change of the stigma associated with addiction. We desperately need help as 72,000 lives were lost in 2017. Please Hear Our Prayers. My baby girl I miss you so much. Ill see you when I get there. My love for you will never die.

Matt. It's hard to put into words how special he was. He was the type of person that always had your back no matter what even, if it put him in a worse situation. He could always make you laugh by his facial expressions or his funny stories. In life, you learn a lot from people you are close with and I learned loyalty from Matt. You couldn’t create a better friend. It hurts that he’s gone. We all miss him but we know he’s peacefully watching down and caring for us along the way. Matt was a real life super hero. I always thought he was untouchable or unstoppable and this would never happen. This is Matt. He was all of the above and more. Mentally and physically, stay strong everyone fighting addiction. Win that fight. It is not undefeated! We love you Matt.

Eric was a great hearted person who loved the blackhawks hockey and his family and girlfriend very much. Eric got started on pain pills that turned in to years of addiction that put him on the road to heroin. We as a family stood up and talked him into rehab and he was ready for a new beginning. He came back and was doing great. Then, a month out, he relapsed and overdosed several times. We always feared the phone call, and that call came 06/18/2018--the worst phone call ever. He was gone. Along with his father and I, Eric has an older sister and younger sister, and two younger brothers that will all carry this struggle out to help other families and friends with addiction. We as a family stand up and fight to end the heroin epidemic! We stand behind the DEA and drug task force and everyone involved to help put an end to this.
Love always your family.

What I miss most about my son is—simply—my son. I miss his good morning Mom, I miss his hello kiss, I miss our evenings together watching TV, I miss him helping me clean up the dinner dishes, I miss his playful spirit, his smile, and his hugs.

Billy struggled for four years. In and out of rehab. He honestly thought he could live a normal life and continue to get high. He was sober for almost nine months. The last high is the one that took him from us.

It is my mission now, in Billy’s name and memory, to try to end this stigma of addiction so nobody else will feel the devastation of loss that my family feels every minute of the day.

Our beloved son David loved nature and adventure. He was intelligent and things came very easily to him in both school and athletics. David and many of his friends found adventure experimenting with drugs and alcohol. Slowly the importance of school and athletics was replaced with the importance of getting drugs. Our beautiful son believed that this lifestyle was fun and that eventually he would "grow up." He became an associate scientist after obtaining his associates degree in engineering, and was heading back to school to obtain a Bachelor of Science in Mining Engineering. He traveled to Iceland and snorkeled in the glacial water just a week before his death. Addiction was a disease we didn't understand or respect. Our family was not connected to provide the kind of support David needed despite intervention from various sources and facilities. David was aware of what rehab was able to do to help him but he did not desire that path toward sobriety. David worked incredibly hard to live without the substances he grew to crave. He helped many friends to become sober but did not reach out when he needed the help most. He purchased what he believed to be heroin when in fact it was 100% fentanyl.
We love and miss you David more than words can ever say. It is unbearable at times for us without your presence and big hugs. You live on in our hearts and your spirit is with us.

I miss the son that was crushed and overtaken by addiction. I miss his booming voice and all the little things that used to annoy me, like stealing food from the fridge that I was saving for a recipe and leaving his clothes on the floor everywhere and forgetting to take the trash out. I see the empty shelf in the fridge where I used to put his lunch for the next work day and I weep inside. But putting anything else there just feels so wrong. What I miss most are his big bear hugs. He was a 260 lb young man that could wrap his whole arms around me and lift me off the floor. And he'd say, "I love you mom, even though we don't always get along..." It's his whole presence that I miss.