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

Brad is my dad, and he passed away when I was eight years old. He was the best dad in the entire world, he loved my brother, sister, and me more than anything. He is the reason my life path is psychology and addiction.

The night he died, we tossed a football back and forth in my grandparents' culdesac for hours. My grandpa and I had just gotten home from an Ohio State football game, my dad came over to see me. When he was getting ready to leave, we hugged and held on to each other for a little longer than usual. He told me how much he loved me, and I made sure he knew how much I loved him, too.

I miss everything I didn't get to have with him. I was only eight years old. I had to go through so much without him, and I have to keep doing it until it's my time to see him again.

I don't know. I don't remember a lot about him :/

My first unconditional love. He was sentimental & would give you the shirt off his back even if he only had one to his name. He lived life hard and fast. He loved being the life of the party & was always searching for knowledge.

His big brown eyes and mischievous grin would light up when he pranked me. He’d call me from an unknown phone number and talk in an accent that I couldn’t understand. He would get the biggest kick when he pulled a prank off. Even though he physically isn’t here anymore, he still pranks me on occasion and I love and cherish every minute.

Brett: mom, mom, mom, mommy, mommy, ma. ma

Me: what?

Brett: nothing

Compassionate, loving, and caring of his family and friends.

So vibrant and full of life. Had a laugh that made you want to laugh with her. Personality - and then some.

Judith's smile and laughter would light up any room. She had a huge heart! She loved her family very much. She loved to sing.

Our last month together❤️

Her beautiful voice, kisses, her hugs, her laughter.

His heart was too big for the lifestyle he was living. He suffered a severe TBI in 11/2011. After that he really struggled with coping & decision making. He was a great father & brother. All kids & animals loved him. He wanted his life to be different but felt like a lost soul. He never believed how important he was to all of us. He stopped caring about himself & life in general. He felt hopeless & nothing could convince him otherwise. Everything could have been so different if he wasn't hit by the SUV. His TBI was hell for him. He also had epilepsy due to brain injury. That was the event that changed everything for him and our immediate family.

The last day I spent with him is my favorite because he died 6 hrs later. I picked him up from work early in the morning. We went shopping at Walmart then to McDonald's drive thru. We ate in a parking lot in my car & just talked. When I dropped him off he gave me his usual hug & kissed my forehead. We told each other I love you & he went inside. I'll miss everything about him so much. My heart is broken without him, my oldest child. I spent over half my life with him.

Everything! His humor, the way he'd scare us, his relationship with his young brother and sister, the random acts of kindness, him doing things to embarrass us in public, his laugh, his jokes, his voice, the way he smelled, his beautiful face, watching him with his daughter & seeing how much she adored him, his presence, his deep conversations, his loudness. I will miss every single thing that made him Zayne. This ache will never go away.

As someone who got dealt one crappy hand after another but still kept trying. As a good father who loved his baby girl. As someone who would defend his family every time. As someone who made mistakes because he was hurting so badly inside. As someone who was worth having in your life. As funny, hardworking, loving,, loved.

Chase is best remembered for his adorable smile and how much he loved his family and friends.

She loved her niece and nephew so much, they were her whole world. She loved her family and loved being at the farm with her grandparents! She loved to dance and make TikTok’s!

When her and her nephew were dancing around in the living room. They both had the biggest smiles.

Her goofy laugh, and her just being here cracking jokes, and making everything fun.

Jake was an ambitious young man. He loved life. He drew people in with his beautiful smile. He always wanted to make us proud.

Always coming home to visit.

His smile and humor…..everything

A beautiful heart.

He loved his family deeply, was loyal to his friends, was passionate about motorcycles and being a mechanic, had a heart as big as Texas and could do anything he set his mind to.

Riding motorcycles in the mountains

Holidays, riding motorcycles, laughing and cuttin’ up.

As a man who loved his family.

Handsome, kind, athletic, musically talented

Someone who fought the grip of addiction for a long time

He was my big brother and could always make me smile.

One year on my birthday he was waiting on me at bus stop holding a kitten that had a bow around the kittens neck.

His smile and how he would always say how's my baby sis....

He would want to be remembered how he could always cheer people up and make them smile.

Rahsaan was a deeply caring person. As other addicts, he was sensitive to the world's problems and people's pain. He always said he loved his Mother most of all. His father was gone at an early age and Mom and Son were tight as tight could be.

He walked at 9 months old and loved the Children's Playground in Golden Gate Park. As a teen, he would make fun of me because I couldn't keep all his friends' names straight. As an adult, we loved watching and analyzing films and just hanging out together.

He was my only child. I miss his voice, his hugs, his laughter and his tears. I miss sharing life with him. I miss sharing memories that only he and I had. No words can encompass the loss. I go on with gratitude for a son who left many beautiful, expressive notes and cards telling me he valued and loved our relationship too.

As a kind and caring person who tried to beat his genetic predisposition to addiction. Remember his warm smile and big heart.

The Sweetest Soul

Her Laugh

My brother Drew was a truly amazing person. He was an amazingly talented musician who worked harder than anyone I know. He was the guy that would show up early to work and leave late. He had an extreme passion for music and spaghetti westerns. An intelligent, handsome one-of-a-kind free-spirited guy who loved God and his family. He fought hard against his addiction for 20+ years. He was a fighter and a real-life winner in my eyes who battled this horrible disease.

This is hard because I have many favorite memories of my brother. From learning Heavy Metal band info in the 80s with him to watching him grow as a father of three beautiful children always having lots of fun when we were all together whether it was jet skiing, hanging out, basketball games, listening to music he was always a light in my life. A best friend that would listen to anything no matter how ridiculous the conversation.

I will miss our daily talks. I will miss him giving me a hard time if I wasn't in the best mood, I will miss him laughing and making fun of silly things. I will miss watching him interact with his children and how that would light up his world.

I believe my brother would like to be remembered as a brave soul who battled hard against the disease of addiction. I believe he would want the world to know that this is a real thing and at times a very hard thing to manage. I believe he would want the world to know how easy it is to get addicted to opioids. His battle started with a prescription to OxyContin after a construction accident and the addiction continued to graduate from there. He was a great musician with impeccable taste for not only writing his own music but loving the music of others. He was a loving father who loved his children more than anything in the world. He would not judge and accepted people for who they were the good, the bad and the ugly. He would want this world to understand that addiction is not a made-up disease and something for most folks is very hard to manage. He would want better programs of recovery for individuals and families affected by this disease.

such a sweet, loving, young man w a lot of dreams, love of life & so intelligent! he’ll be missed by all that ever came in contact with him! i miss him so much! there’s a gigantic, hole in my heart!

he loves to cook professionally & would always want me to assist him

his ability to always make me smile! he made me happy if i was sad. he made me hopeful at the times i struggled.

not in the way he was taken from this world… but on his love of life and his hopes for the future! it’s been 2 years, 21 days since my world changed! :(

Christopher was the most kindhearted gentle soul, who put others first. Christopher was loyal and loving to those he loved and was trustworthy.He had character and integrity.He was so smart that he figured out the stock market and became a day trader.

There are many great memories of Christopher. My favorite memory of Christopher occured when he was young. I took him on a trip to the arcades in Elizabeth, NJ. He enjoyed every single moment playing all of the games and even learned to play pool.

Chris was not just my nephew. He was someone with whom I could talk to about anything and know I was never being judged. He accepted and loved me, no matter what. I trusted with my secrets and my struggles. I will miss his smile and humor and hearing about his dreams. I will miss hearing him say, "Hey Aunt Mary".But most of all, I will miss having one of the kindest, most giving and loving people I've known in my life!

Not as a "drug addict", because a disease does not define a person, any more than it does a person who has struggled with Cancer. Christopher will be remembered for the beautiful person he was and the lives he touched. He was a fighter of this disease, but also a victim and casualty to the opioid epidemic. This epidemic continues to steal the precious lives of our loved ones. We all must stand together to fight this common enemy until there are NO MORE innocent victims! I miss and love you!

My sweet nephew had a heart of gold. He was always there looking out for his family. Family was everything to him

His whole life was memorable

Will miss his hugs, his voice just everything about him

He would want us to be the voice for him and the others that we have lost.. Its time to Break the silence

Mackinzie was beautiful, smart, and loved. She struggled with SUD, but was determined to win the battle. She loved the beach, and spending time with animals.

Watching her dance, and acting silly, and enjoy life

Hearing her laugh, and seeing her smile

Joey was full of life, light and love. He was smart-too smart, I thought he would change the world. He had a captivating smile, a natural leader. The sparkle in his eye would light up a room, his quick wit made sure you knew he was two steps ahead.

He was my everything. Made me a mom. Memories of his laugh, his eyes and joy keep me going now. He saved a hummingbird, loved his dog, enjoyed swimming and was a beach bum at heart. He wrote amazing stories and loved his video games. He was always up to something. He wanted everyone to be happy. Hated to disappoint or have anyone upset with him. I adored him and the first time he winked at me, to get out of something I am sure - we both laughed that he thought that would work. (but it did)

Hearing his voice calling me ma, mom, or even mama. Hugging him. And of course that smile and twinkle in his eye.

He tried and fought his addiction with everything he had. Over and over again. He searched for love and acceptance and struggled with guilt which fueled his depression and addiction. He was his own worst enemy. He was not weak or lazy. He was a fighter. But, overcoming addiction is HARD. He was always good enough - he just never believed it.

What I wouldn't give to have 1 more day with her. She was a spunky, caring a d very driven girl who loved hard when she loved. She thought of herself as an outside, however, she was nothing of the sort. I wish she knew her worth before her passing because if she had known how much we all valued her, maybe then she'd still be here.

When she came to visit me at work when I was on work release from prison. It was the first time we had really hung out outside of being incarcerated together images remember thinking after she left like geez that was the first time that we've hung out and just being so happy that the one person that I really admired that I met during my time was actually starting to form a really good friendship outside of jail I miss her so fucking much I need her so bad right now

Not having her to help me through tough times, not seeing her amazing smile, never hearing her call me 'hjelle bean' again.

She probably wouldn't . That was just her mentality...