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

My brother's struggle with addiction lasted over half of his life. It started with alcohol in middle school then illicit drugs in high school. At some point he moved to prescription drugs that he supplemented with more illicit drugs. He used the drugs to mask his depression and his anxiety. And he spent a portion of his last summer in rehab. He tried so hard to overcome it. He gave up his job and his house, his friends so that he could stay away from that life. But the drugs kept calling his name and he relapsed. He remained clean for several months but what it all came down to was the 6 days following the relapse. We begged and pleaded with him to see that this time it obviously wasn't under control, that he was taking it too far. But he was stubborn. And he had used for too long so he just knew he had it under control. Except he didn't and now he is a statistic.

Chris was my first born son from a previous marriage. His father is an alcoholic. Chris followed in his father's footsteps and was an alcoholic. He struggled with alcohol for many years. He also smoked marijuana and tried the K 2 spice. He got sober on August 18, 2011. He thought he could help his friend from school who was homeless get off of Heroin. He failed, he died on his 2 year Sobriety anniversary. The addict is still an addict who is currently in jail again facing petty theft, burglary and grand theft charges. He has over 66 cases (that I know of) with the local courts in Ohio. He also has cases in Indiana. Chris is no longer struggling with is addiction.

Chris struggled for many years with his addiction to alcohol. It all started in his early 20's. He tried many different rehabs, treatment centers and recovery programs. He tried really hard and would have good months and then bad months. Good day & bad days. It was a scary cycle. He was homeless at times. sleeping in the woods or who knows where. Not because he had to be.... That is just where his addiction led him on many occasions. During his last months, he was in and out of detox a lot. After 5 days of detox, you are given some options and then back out into the world you go. He was battling but continued to go into treatment and halfway houses. On his last day, he was arrested walking down the road for public intoxication on the morning of the 4th of July. He passed away in jail just 3 hours later. We still don't know all the final details. It is now 7 months later and my family does not have many answers yet. He was a person and every life IS IMPORTANT. I wish he would have been taken to the hospital like in the past when this has happened. He always seemed to bounce back and we would have him with us just a little longer. We feared that death would be his "rock bottom" many times but we never wanted to let go of that little bit of hope that he could get past it. That hope that he would stay in recovery and overcome his addiction. He had future plans set with his family and future plans in place for his current living situation. I know he did not want this. Addiction is real and a very hard disease. Miss him so much.

Charlie has started with a curiosity about drug 13-14 year old. Then when he was on his own, 19-20. He started using coke a lot. Then came the Heroin to bring him down. Once his tried Heroin that was his drug of choice. Many times he would go into rehab but soon after his would be back. He spent time on the streets being homeless and then methadone treatment. He survived od a couple of times and then the last time he was put in jail. 3 weeks clean, he got out. A few days later he was overdosed and gone. I talked to him that day and he was up and talking about the future and excited about his life. All it took was one last dose.

Struggles with learning disabilities and ADD in younger years. Low self esteem which led to harder drugs. Searched for help but the right help was never found. First overdose he was left with disabilities from a stroke. After months of rehab and being clean, he died in his sleep from his second overdose.

It began in his tween years--catapulting into heroin at the tender age of 17. He tried every rehab, detox, program and sober house--but the beast continued to feed on his soul, his life, destroying everything in it's path. It would estrange him from friends, family, his daughter and himself.

Brian was in court-ordered programs off and on. When in program his drug use was minimal as there was the risk of failing a drug test. When he could, he dabbled. I don't know that he had a drug of choice. What I do know is that his first heroin high was his last of any kind.

Brett struggled with addiction for an entire year. He knew the consequences of his actions, but once the drug got a hold of him it was almost as the Brett I knew and loved was gone long before he was actually gone. He was scheduled to check into rehab the next day.

Addition came by pills prescribed by at least three doctors for issues he was having within his personal life. Not once did he ever get counseling to get to the root of the problem. By the second year of college he was getting into all sorts of things ... then he went to street drugs. When he left college he was still making A's, he didn't control them, they fully controlled him.

Brent struggled for years. When he was about 3 years into his addiction he finally admitted he was a drug addict. He cleaned up for awhile but the ugly disease reared its head again and he died about 3 weeks after his relapse.

Brennan was an alcoholic . . . .once he started drinking, he could not figure out when it was time to stop. He would binge drink. He knew it was ruining his relationships, but he thought he could "control it" and drink in moderation. More recently, he became addicted to OxyContin. He mixed it with alcohol last week and was found unresponsive. The paramedics could not revive him.

Billy tried alcohol in middle school and stole my left over Oxy. And took it to a party and snorted it with friends. He then smoked pot and we thought it was a one time thing but through out his high school years a kid at school stole pain medicine from his Mom. Billy was supposed to sell it for him, but instead took it all. Money went missing and he got beaten up and thats when we realized he had a real problem. We wanted him to graduate and thought by confronting this kids parents we would end his supply. Somewhere during 2011, he turned to heroin. When more money and items went missing we called insurance and they placed him in an IOP program 3 days a week and on suboxone. They kept increasing his dosage and he was still using. We begged for in-patient, called several places and even were told he had a bed. He was then turned away at the door because insurance said he was not sick enough even though he was snorting heroin. Back to IOP he went. We thought he was doing better until jewelry went missing. Now after a year and a half of this we took him to the ER and were told there was no rehab there. I begged them saying he couldn't come home and they gave us a number to call. Two days later he was accepted in a 14 day in-house treatment detox center. Then Christmas Eve we drove him to a 28 day in-house center that his grandma paid for, but it was in Pennsylvania and they did not have N.A. there. We were thrilled though because he was safe and seemed optimistic. He came home at the end of January 2013 and went to a local IOP program and after over 90 days clean he left his IOP and bought heroin. The next morning, March 19, we found him blue in his bed. He was taken off life support on March 21, 2013.

Ben was a text book case. He was diagnosed as bi-polar, schizo effective, major depressive NOS at the onset of puberty, at age 15. He struggled to feel normal every day of his life. He completed rehab at various facilities 5 times and each time he would get detoxed and on track he would come up with reasons not to take his medications so that he could self medicate with heroin. That was his drug of choice. He felt alone inside his heart and mind. He felt judged even when he was doing well. He felt as if he could never get a break. He damaged the relationships with his siblings. His father and I continued to do what we could for him. I couldn't figure out what his trigger for use was. He would relapse when everything was going well, stable home, job, friends....and he would relapse when things were not good...break up with girlfriend, no job, no friends. He lied, he stole...many things but I never gave up hope because they were just symptoms of the disease. January 12, 2014 he overdosed and the doctor told him that his heart would not survive another overdose. He completed rehab on March 8, 2014 and got a job, an apartment and was doing well. He died on May 22, 2014 with the heroin needle still between his toes. He was never able to see past his addiction and the wonderful man that he was when he wasn't using.

Ben seemed to struggle the most with his impulses. He had very little impulse control. If he felt something - he said it. If he wanted something - he took it. He was diagnosed at age 5 with ADHD and struggled with school and expected behavior for his entire school career. He came home from Kindergarten and said something like, "At recess, I run for the swings because if I get a swing, I can just stay on it for the whole recess and I know I won't get in trouble." Ben started stealing beers and alcohol as a young teen. He was very smart and therefore very sneaky and good at stealing alcohol. He started smoking weed and moved on to all kinds of other drugs by high school. He was a very talented chef and went to the state level of Pro-start, a chef program in high schools. He tried college, but it didn't work so well for him. He did get a great job as a chef; however, that restaurant life was rampant with drugs and alcohol and he continued using. Throughout high school and young adulthood, his family tried many, many programs for recovery and sobriety. They would work for awhile and soon he would be back using. Ben moved to California in 2012 and there he found heroin. He went through rehab after rehab in Cali. He was finally clean for four months and living in a good sober living house. He was working at the deli at Albertson's in Dana Point. He was staying clean and finally owning his own shit for the first time in his life. On the morning of July 22, 2014, he hooked up with an old druggie acquaintance. At 3 pm that afternoon, he was found dead in his room from a heroin overdose. He didn't even inject it, he had only smoked it, and yet he died from it.

Ben's struggle with addiction started in his early 20's soon after being diagnosed with a medical condition. We believe that trying to adjust and cope with the medical condition led him to a dependence upon opioids and a downward spiral ensued. Ben sought psychiatric help for his addiction to hydrocodone and Xanax. However, it was a battle that was never won and led to a loss of different jobs and close friends. Ben's personality drastically changed from being outgoing and energetic to quiet, reserved, and isolated. Even through battling his addiction, Ben fought for his independence and ability to maintain his last job which he held for a few years. Ben became extremely ill the last few weeks of his life, and on July 17, 2015, his body finally gave out to his drug abuse. He passed away in his sleep.

His struggle with addiction started with pain pills after having surgery 2009 and ended 2015 with heroin. When he was unable to get opiates he turn to heroin. He was in a transition house for a couple months and got the bright idea that he was able to kick it on his own he was advise now to leave but he ignored the counselors and walked out.and went to live with a girl that he had met whom was also using heroin and was dead three weeks later.

Artie struggled for years with an addiction to prescription pain killers and then heroin. He fought a hard fight until the day he died.

Anthony started doing Oxycontin in 12th grade. He battled his addiction for 6 years. He went to 3 rehabs, all 21 days or under because that's all insurance pays for. He had periods of sobriety, but then always relapsed. During those sober times, he would tell me the truth about things he had lied about when using. He switched to heroin at Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity at Penn State. We had pulled him out of Penn State and he was going to Abington campus, about 30 minutes from home. We thought he had beat it, because we think he had been clean for about 8 months. But, there was that "one more time" and he went to heaven.

Ant's challenges were subtle at first and then became stronger as his life became harder to control and manage. He had to be the best and this was certainly not a fit but he couldn't no longer ignore its hold.