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

This place is just not the same without you. I am so lost without you. I wished you knew how much you were needed here. I wished you knew how much I love you.
Days turned into night. Weeks have turned into months and months have turned into years.
You're never coming back.......

My son struggled with addiction he tried to overcome so many times. He was also my son, a father to 2 children, Stella and JR, whom he adored. He was also a brother, cousin, nephew and had many friends I’ll miss him forever❤️

My oldest sisters son.. from 9th grade until the day he was taken from us by overdose, he struggled... In and out of rehab... I myself have been clean for almost 15 years.. and I tried so hard to lead him on the right path.. He left behind 2 sons, they are 13 and 14 now.. The 13 year old witnessed his dad high and unconscious while he had the kid in the car with him.. Parked under a train tressel in Brooklyn.. The kid sat there for hours trying to wake my nephew up... Needless to say he had a very hard time seeing his boys after that.. The last year of his life was the worst.. He had Easter dinner with us and he disappeared into the dark streets of Manhattan for almost a year to the day.. My mom, his Nanny reached out to him a few months before he passes. She asked him.. what are you doing with your life? He replied Nanny I love my life.. I don't want to stop getting high... His funeral was a few months later... My Jay.. RIP..

I miss him everyday. I do not want his death to define who he was. He hated being addicted. We tried several times to get help, I feel the system failed us. He was loved by many. I want to remember him as he truly was, a kind-hearted soul. I love you!!!! MOM

John was an amazing husband and father. He had a heart of gold, could always make you laugh, would do anything to help anyone, and loved so deeply. He brought so much joy to my life and shared with me a love that I never felt before. I will miss him tremendously but I will be forever grateful for the time that we had together. I hope to share the amazing qualities of his character with others as my life goes on. I will always love him and my heart will always have a void that he once filled. Each time that my heart breaks I will try to fill it with the joy from one of my many amazing memories that we made together.

Joey, my first born, dabbled with drugs in his younger years, but seemed to have conquered the demon and was responsible, being a long distance truck driver. I don’t know why, or what happened that made him seek out the substance that killed him, but I know this world has lost a shining soul that exhibited love and laughter everywhere he went! Joey was funny and loved music, playing in several local bands from his teen years to recently. He taught himself to play guitar at 11 years old by sheer persistence, and he was good!!! He has left behind a mass of people who love and miss him. Our lives will never be the same. Rest In Peace my Beautiful Boy 💔

Josh was always trying to make people laugh. A very kind soul who loved his family very much. His struggles with life were trying to get ahead with a child to support at 20 years old. His experimentation with drugs took him to another level of no return. He was very loved by many!

Danny was the type of person that was loved by everyone who crossed paths with him. He never met a stranger. He had the biggest heart, the kindest soul.

One summer Danny and I worked for a party rental company. He was soon banned from working any of the game booths because he just couldn't let a single child walk away without a prize. That was Danny's heart. Danny was the guy who always bought painted rocks from the kids in the neighborhood, and then displayed them proudly on our entertainment stand. He loved people, especially kids. Probably because he was a big kid himself. He was the best father. The absolute best. One year we showed up for our oldest daughter's Christmas party unaware that siblings couldn't attend. Danny took our youngest and hugged our daughter. We assumed he was going home until there was a knock on the classroom window. He stood outside the opened window, and actively participated for the entire 3-hour party while our then 2-year-old played in the grass. He was THE BEST dad.

Danny struggled with addiction for 20 years. He was the bravest, strongest, most determined person I've ever known - but this was the one thing he just couldn't beat.

Danny was the definition of loyal. He was faithfully loyal to his family, his children and to me. He put us first above everything and anything. But heroin often got in his way. Danny didn't want to be an addict. When I met him, all the fun and enjoyment of being high was already long in the past. Danny fought hard against his addiction. I know without a doubt that if he could be here today he would.

Addiction took Danny from his family. It took him from countless people whose lives he touched. Danny was a soul that had more love for others than for himself. He was a soul that was broken. And addiction took notice of that. Addiction saw the voids, the broken pieces and it snaked its way in through the cracks. And once it filled those cracks, like cement it hardened. No matter how hard Danny chiseled away at it, it stuck. Eventually, it spread and consumed the kindest, most loyal, most amazing person I've ever met.

Someone said to me in the days following Danny's death, "I just hate it when addiction wins." I resent that statement. Addiction didn't win. It can't. I won't allow it. I will fight this disease until my last breath. I will share Danny's story. I will reach out to others the way Danny did. I will carry on his love, his kindness. I will carry on his fight. Because the only way it truly wins is when we surrender the fight.

Geron was an only child. He could charm anyone with jokes and his ability to built anything or fix anything always amazed all. He raced dirt bikes cross country, loved fishing, hunting but his true love was his kids and me (his wife). He battled bipolar disorder, and to deal with his pain he drank and used drugs. He kicked the drugs but the alcohol had a hold of him. We divorced because of drinking: I loved him, he loved me and he deeply loved his kids. He needed to love himself. Alcohol loved him more. We remember to laughs and lessons he taught us all and we miss his deeply. His kids: Ryan, Lane, and Erika are finding their way with their dad watching from above. Every day we are proud to keep fighting and helping others in any way that our faith allows us to. We miss you, Geron. YOU MATTER!

Sweetest caring and giving with all her being. Got caught in a trap that no one should need to try to escape from. 
I love and miss you terribly Chelsea.

One that is remembered, never dies.

I miss you and love you so very much Chelsea. You were so full of life and a happy spirit. You're in my heart and thoughts always, my dearest daughter🙏🏻❤️

Zachary was a loving and caring person! He was full of life and we will miss him greatly.

Bryanna was full of life, always smiling and reaching out a hand to help someone. She loved children and animals unconditionally. She had a heart of gold and wanted the best for her friends and family. She marched to the beat of her own drum and there was never a dull moment when she was around. She started drugs at 14. She became addicted to heroin at 18. She checked herself into detox centers and found sober living facilities. She had great sober days/months but would always relapse. She struggled for two years before fentanyl took her from us. Her dad, me, and her brother miss her terribly. Fly high baby girl! 💜

My husband, my best friend, and the perfect father to our children. You are gone but will never be forgotten. You are with us in everything we do. Your smile lives on forever. I love and miss you more than words could ever explain. ❤️

Bradley was my only child. We had an incredible bond. He was a kind, generous, funny, and loyal person. He was kind to animals and children. He struggled with his addiction on and off for several years, going in and out of jail. This seemed to change him as I saw this beautiful, bright child's light get dimmer and dimmer each time he came out and he seemed to have this overwhelming sadness that got worse each time. He craved love that he just couldn't seem to find in this world, a love that I could not seem to fill. It saddens me that he left this world feeling so sad and with such darkness in his heart. I think the addiction made him feel so sad and lonely. He just couldn't see all the people that loved him so much. I just wish he would have had one more chance to pull out of the devils grasp and feel the warm love of his family and the lord Jesus Christ. I can only hope that he can feel it and see it now. Fly high my one and only!

I met Jessica in rehab. We were both fighting terribly hard to get our lives and our sanity back. She always told me I was her mentor and inspiration, but she was also my inspiration. I had never met someone so sensitive to the feelings and well being of others. I often thought that maybe her sensitivity was in fact the root of her addiction. Jessica felt so deeply and most of the time didn't know what to do with those strong feelings. She was the last person I hugged when I left for the halfway house I was assigned to. I got home March 22, 2019 and spoke with Jess, for what would be the last time, on March 27th. She was in such good spirits and seemed to have a clarity about where she was in her recovery. I told her I loved her and couldn't be prouder of her. Then life started happening for both of us and on April 20th I got a message that she had overdosed on heroin and was gone from this world to a better, heavenly one. I was absolutely shocked and devastated. My heart broke into a trillion pieces for her family and for this world. We truly lost an angel on earth that day.

Savannah, beautiful, smart, talented, kind, loved animals, loved her family, always a smile, and a really big ❤. She had lots of love to give and was very trusting, fun, and energetic. She always listened but never judged. But all the words, all the adjectives, and all the pictures and postings won't bring her back to us. God has her now and she lives among his angels and she walks on the streets paved with gold. She shares that beautiful smile with other loved ones who have gone on before. How much I miss her and wish I could have done something to convince her that addiction might some day take her away from us and we would never be the same without her.

My daughter, my first love, my reason, my Hannah.
Her struggle began at a very early age. She began using at 15. By 18, she had been to rehab seven times. A few months before losing her battle she asked to go back again, but unfortunately she never made it back to treatment.
On Valentine's day this year she overdosed alone, in a parking lot.
She was so much more than her disease and wanted to live a sober life and tried so hard.
Hannah was a bright, loving, beautiful soul who could light up a room with her smile and contagious, loud laughter. She never met a stranger and had a love for music.
She lives on through her selfless gift of organ donation.
I'm so very proud of you my beautiful brown eyed girl.
I miss you every minute of every day.
I love you more,
Mom