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

My son was so intelligent and such a sport enthusiast. His favorite teams were the Rangers (Hockey) and Raiders (Football).
He was a passionate man and felt things deeply (empathy). He was a very kind guy who always felt other people’s hurts 😞. Although, he said he didn’t feel connected.
He had many hurts and struggles and had a soul sickness, but as he said, “His addiction didn’t define him.”
He was a very proud father of five children And at 36 years old he left this world on December 1st, 2019. He left behind five children-twins (boy and girl-10 years old), a 7 year-old girl, a five-year old girl, and a four year old girl. He loved to spend time teaching them about things and instilling values in them and laughing with them. He was soooo proud of them!! He always would tell me how smart and beautiful they were.
He had a Beautiful heart ❤️ And had faith in our Lord especially the last several months, his faith increased. He accepted Jesus into his life this past June ✝️❤️🙏🏻!
I tried for years to save him. I prayed and prayed and had many people who prayed ceaselessly for him. I begged, threatened, detached, enabled, cried, told him off, told him I was sorry, and then would repeat the whole process again and again. He went to a few rehabs-30 day stays but it wasn’t long enough.
These rehabs need to be longer with better trained counselors and more intense programs including Christianity as the center. Addiction has to be taken more seriously. It’s a mental Illness and needs to be identified as such.
It’s killing our children in large amounts and little is being done to stop this monster. These drugs are EVIL INCARNATE and it is among us as evil does-insidious, cunning, and baffling. It takes their souls before they even realize it. It whispers into their ears, “Come into my place of feeling good, I’ll take your pain away”, but in actuality just like EVIL 👿, it lies to them, makes them trust it, and then slowly and methodically, takes their mind, body, and spirit away until they become unidentifiable to the ones that know and love them.
Even in our society, people start to get numb to hearing about it and make generalized statements on how it is killing so many. The police and rescue workers become hardened and almost desensitized to it just to be able to handle what they have seen again and again. It steals part of their souls 💔 as they give of themselves to save as many of them as they can. They try again and again. Some survive but eventually it has become commonplace and called “an epidemic" but little changes and more and more die. To me, I see the story of the Revelations...right before our very eyes.

I miss rubbing your ears Charlie Brown, and you kissing me on the forehead after you would visit me. And singing the Camp Taylor song. A song about a bar in the neighborhood I grew up in. Thank you for your Christmas present of singing me the song the year before you died. And while it is incredibly difficult to march forth here on this earth, there is great consolation in knowing I’ll see you on the other side of eternity. Love, Mom

Handsome, smart, fun, hardworking, loving. The outside didn’t show the struggles on the inside. Miss you every second of every day.

I miss so many things about her but her laugh most of all!! She had the best laugh ever!! It warmed my heart and made me smile whenever I heard it! She was my dream come true after a 10 year battle with infertility. Our firstborn daughter via IVF. She was and will always be loved and missed by all her family and friends and especially her son Jaxton Arthur who was just two years old at the time of our tragic loss.

My 30 year son, a 10 year journeyman electrician, husband, and father of two beautiful children agreed to enter treatment on May 16. He died on the 14th day of a drug overdose. He was in rehab and had just detoxed. This should have been the highest secured area of the center. What happened? I urge ALL parents and family members to ask critical questions when checking someone in to any rehab...what are your measurable outcomes and have there been any other deaths? What are your security measures and how well staffed is your facility? You must continue to be an advocate for your loved one in treatment. They should never die inside a treatment facility from an overdose.

Kristopher was my brother, my best friend, and he was the best uncle to my two daughters. They loved him so much and they were his world. He unfortunately battled this disease that so many of us know and struggle with. I WOULD DO ANYTHING to change the night he passed .... I KNOW HE IS AT PEACE NOW THOUGH AND NOT SICK ANYMORE. We all miss him terribly. TILL WE MEET AGAIN KRISTOPHER. REST IN PEACE BRO. I LOVE AND MISS YOU TO DEATH!!
Love,
Your sister
Kourtney

Loving son, brother, uncle, and nephew. But most importantly, loving Daddy. His smile would light up the room. Miss his infectious laugh. I can’t wait to see him again in heaven. ❤️❤️❤️

My Husband Santiago ♥️ He was the best grandfather ever. He was a loving, caring, and kind man to everyone he met. He was loved by so many people. Unfortunately the disease of alcoholism consumed his body and took him away from me way too soon. I miss him very much, every day. I find comfort knowing he is no longer suffering and in pain. And I know that one day we will be together again.

My dear son, Matt, was a loving son with the biggest heart--he loved his family and friends very much. He leaves behind me, his dad, three brothers (one younger and two older), three nieces, and one nephew. Matt was an athlete who excelled at basketball at only 5'6". His dream was to be 6 feet tall so he could dunk. 🙂 Matt was an honors student all through school and went on to obtain his MBA. He worked and loved his job as a realtor. He was hardworking and had big dreams until that one day when addiction took over.

Matt's struggle began later in his life after a couple of Percocets were given to him by a friend who told him they are not addicting. From there he started using heroin. Got sober for awhile from that and then was prescribed Adderall for ADHD. His addiction got progressively worse after that. He lost his battle one day after his 32nd birthday this past January 19th. Our hearts are broken forever...our family will never be the same without our Matt.

I miss My Sweet Girl more than anything in this world. She was a very strong young lady. She had great hopes of becoming a veterinarian when she finished school. She had big dreams that I really wish I could've seen her accomplish. I can only tell myself God had different plans for her. Rest in Heaven My Sweet Girl.

Cody had a heart that was too big for this world! He was a beautiful boy that was loved fiercely. Our hearts ache for his unfinished life.

My baby boy was a loving, caring, son, brother, friend, and daddy. He was always willing to help anyone, be it family or friend. He tried to help people struggling with addiction as well. He lost his fight with addiction and the world lost a loving, caring person.
Love and miss you every day Joey.

Jason had a tender heart and a warped sense of humor. Those closest to him will say he was their most reliable friend. Many say he was their best friend. Even more say their only friend.

Jason had immeasurable knowledge and passion for all facets of metal and rock & roll. Music was his sanity. His sanctuary. His home.

The most important role he played was daddy to his now 9-year-old daughter. He will always be her hero.

Godspeed ~

Alisha had a heart of gold. She would always try to find the good in everyone. Her smile would light up the room. She was a friend to everyone. Most of all she was a mom, a great mom. Her daughter, Kirah is almost 12 and learned to be kind and selfless from her mom. It's been a tough year for all of us but especially her daughter. We continue talking about Alisha everyday hoping it will somewhat ease our pain of losing her and keep her memory alive.

Hi, my name is Pat. My very best friend of 25 years, Amber, was addicted to heroine. She had picked up this addiction while I had run away to California for a couple years and when I came back she was already at the beginning of her divorce, in which she lost the children to her husband. That was the beginning of a downward spiral.

We stayed in touch but she moved to a bigger city to open her own hair salon. But the money went fast. Even though she was doing great and was actually very successful. She ended up having to close it down.

Around this time I met a girl that I ended up marrying. Amber and I did date when we first met. I have actually been in absolute love with her since but... hindsight you know?

Anyway, I got married and my new wife was not so nice or good to me. She introduced me to meth. I don't blame her. I was a big boy.

So, I party hard and I wasn't safe with using the needle and ended up getting an infection that caused me to have 23 strokes. I died two times and they had to replace one of my heart valves. This was in 2015. My Amber was scared and mad and she made me promise not to leave her like that. Oh and against all odds I make a 98% recovery.

Jump to June 2019. She moves in with me. My dream comes true. The love of my life is with me and it's perfect! She needs help to stop using so I help her get through. She falls a few times but she keeps trying.

She had discussed with her mother and daughter about moving to Colorado where they live so the plan was for her to go first and I would follow as soon as she got a place and was ready.

After a ton of preparing ,the day came on the 19th of October. We hugged and kissed goodbye. Said see you later but it took her three times as long to get there as it should have. By the time she did get there she was having trouble walking into her mom's house. I believe she had already had her first stroke. Her mom said she would take care of her because she just had a fever. I told her mother what I believed was happening. The same as happened to me--a staph infection from shooting up was hurting the love I had been waiting for my whole life.

Amber wasn't getting better. I did talk to her on the phone one last time. I also spoke on text with her one more time. It was clear to me. My baby was having more strokes.

The next day Amber was unresponsive. Her mom got her to the hospital but it was too late. Her heart kept stopping.

The love of my life, loving mother of two, and the most beautiful woman inside and out died on November 4th 2019.
Why her? Because she was an addict that used the needle and at least once she was careless. Why did God spare me? Man, I have no idea. I love her and miss her so incredibly much.
Pray for all those addicted and if you see one struggling. Give them an ear or a hand with love not judgment.

Thanks for reading Amber's story
I love you Amber 1231🍀

Casey struggled with addiction after her children went to stay with their paternal grandmother, who told her she would never keep her children from her. Casey believed her and gave her temporary custody just till she could get on her feet and get a place to live. Her husband wouldn't get up and go to work so they were evicted from their apartment. Her daughter was 18 months old and her son was three. Well her husband's mother who claimed to be a Christian kept the children and would not even allow her to have a photo of them. She fought for 14 years. All during this time she went from taking pills to shooting up anything she could get her hands on. She went in and out of jail and prison during this time. Her last time arrested she asked the judge to keep her locked up after he said she could have a personal bond. She told him she was an addict and would surely die if he let her go home. She spent a year in jail and when she came home she was happy to be sober. Her daughter wanted to meet her and hear her side of the story. It was great. She finally had her children back. Her daughter at 17 finally calling her mom and she spent a week with her. Her sons were both happy to be in her life. We all thought that things were good for her finally having her kids back. She became a grandma and got to see her granddaughter be born. She kept her grandson for a week so her son could spend time with his little girl. She was 18 months sober and was doing great on probation. She was finally happy. But on October 16 of this year I received a call from her sister that she had overdosed and passed away. My heart broke and the hardest thing I ever had to do was call her children to tell them she had passed away.

Dave was my youngest and only brother. He was a loner, but would give you the shirt off his back. Dave kept everything deep inside, his drug of choice was cocaine but as years went on, alcohol became a friend among others. Dave drove a tractor trailer for a living. He could make you laugh so hard that would take your breathe away! He was close with my boys and my grandchildren. He was my oldest Godfather (ironic). He was there for us when able.... He passed this year of a drug overdose. That phone call will never leave my brain or the vision I portrayed, listening to the words your brother is gone. We have all of our times to remember and share with each other. I wouldn’t give up the tough times that taught and strengthened us all. Until we meet again Dave ❤️

Erica,
You fought so hard with your battle of addiction. In the end, the Evil won.You were funny, outgoing, and goodhearted. Then this demon of addiction turned you into someone no one knew. You tried to hide it but the years had taken it's toll. We miss you so much Erica. I cannot even bring myself to go to your grave. You loved Christmas and the decorating. This is the first year without you. So many memories. Your children miss you. Your siblings miss you. I know I will never be the same but I also know the moment you left us, God reached out His hand and grabbed yours, saying, "My Child your pain is over. You're with your family in Heaven." I have to believe this. Rest easy my daughter. I Will Always Love You!!!

He really was a good person.