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

💞"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.

On November 6, 2011 I lost my only child, my son Cody! Absolute worst day of my life! Cody was full of life and very athletic, playing basketball and baseball both of which he was very good at! Pitching over 100 mph at the age of on 15, he probably had a bright future ahead of him until he just started doing heroin! At first we didn't even believe him. We thought it was for more attention and he didn't know what he was doing, due to the fact he was saying that sometimes he snorted it and sometimes he smoked it! "We were like what the heck"? We thought we were ok because heroin was only done through needles! So we thought! We definitely knew nothing about heroin at all! Until one day I, his mother, walked in on him in the garage trying to give himself a "dose" as he called it! I couldn't believe it and that's when I realized he's not joking and this was real! I brought him to California, away from everything he knew, hoping for a new start! Three months later it started again. We fought with him about who he hung around with and tried to put him in some kind of treatment center or detox facility, however, in the state of California, at least at that time, there wasn't one who would take him even with his parents consent if he didn't want to be there! Which made us furious due to the fact that he was a minor! Why was it you could force an adult but a child could make the decision of not going to treatment! My opinion, you would have better luck with a child then an adult. I called the police on him, but he was not a bad child, so I was not trying to get him in any kind of trouble. I just wanted help on a path of where to start. At least some options! But nothing! So again I took my son to a motel, where he was not left alone. It was only me, his girlfriend, and himself! No one knew where we were. He had no contact with anyone at all. Not even his stepfather knew! However, I did allow him to smoke pot because it did help him with the nausea, and helped him to be able to eat at least a little and honestly I had no limit to how much he smoked of it! I was prepared to spend every second with my son, my world. I watched my child in the worst excruciating pain and agony, throwing up, he was somewhat violent but it was the drugs not my son! I did this 30 straight days and it was worth it! But it didn't last! He was clean about 30 more days and then relapsed because he and his girlfriend got in a huge fight and I was admitted into the hospital due to my kidneys. I think he felt alone and not wanted. He was my absolute everything. My worst fear was losing him to that drug, and promised if that day happened I would follow! I often wonder what was so much more important about that heroin than his own mother? I think of him 24 hours a day still! The officers here made me feel like it was just another kid off the street on drugs! They only investigated it about five months and dropped it! Came to find out my son was the seventh person in my small city alone under the age of 17 to pass away under the age of 21 in a period of 30 days from the same batch of heroin! Still, it was less kids on drugs and on the streets to them. For me, it makes me thankful that finally authorities are stepping up and trying to finally come up with some support and help for other children who are suffering out there, and giving them hope! But look at how many lost their child and the drug dealers are still out there running the streets and giving young children the drugs!! I myself have learned who gave my son his heroin, and his dealer is a well known heroin dealer now, but cannot prove he was there at that time!! But he'll admit he was at the house that particular day looking to buy a so called cell phone from my son! This is a lie but I couldn't prove it so he's off running the street daily with no remorse for what has become as a result of his actions! It kills me every day! I just wanted to share my story so other parents could have maybe a little feeling of they aren't alone, and I really hope other grieving parents have had at least some kind of closure of wether the dealer was sentenced or maybe more options to help children in their community with the same addiction! I want to know that the loss of my child at least helped other communities step up and try to fight this epidemic that's so out of control!! We should never as parents have to say goodbye to our children! That's not how it's suppose to be! I love you my son!

CODY JAMES O'DONNELL
10/3/94- 11/6/11
Always remembered but never forgotten!!!

Casey started rebelling in his early teens, skipping school, smoking cigarettes and pot, and drinking. His father and I tried everything to stop him, counseling, rehab, etc. But at 16 Casey chose drugs and the people who would support his bad choices over his family. By age 17 Casey had dropped out of school and lived with various friends and on and off with his father and me (in our separate homes) over the next nine years. The stays with his father and I didn't last long, because of his drug use. Once in his 20s his drug of choice became heroin. His father and I had no idea that he had was using heroin, that came to light in 2016.

2017 Casey was in and out of rehab several times, refusing to complete the program after detox. He continued his spiral down and by December was living in his brother's car with his addicted girlfriend.

In January 2018 after several ODs and jail time, Casey completed a full rehab program and began living with me and my husband in February. For almost four months, Casey was doing better than we all expected, working, getting the Vivitrol shot. It was such a great time (not without a few blips) doing puzzles, cooking, watching movies, listening to his hilarious impressions--it was so amazing for me. In June, he relapsed and we had no idea he was using again.

The morning of June 22nd, I found Casey. He had overdosed and was gone. I always thought he would beat the addiction, I knew it was going to be hard but I thought his love for life was stronger, but I was wrong. His addiction was a disease, not a choice. I miss him every day, I think about June 22nd and talk to him every night when I lay in bed. So many things remind me of him, food, songs, silly things that he and I would find funny. He should have had a wonderful life, he was an untapped well of potential, but heroin took that all away from him, and it took him away from me.

On October 21, 1987 I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl and I named her Christina Maria. Christina was raised in a loving Italian home. She attended Saint Vincent DePaul School and obtained First Honors throughout her years at St. Vincent’s.

In 2001, Christina went to Holy Family Academy, and continued to maintain a 4.0 throughout her four years at Holy Family. She was the president of the Student Council and graduated in 2005. She participated in many sports throughout her grammar and high school years.

In 2005, Christina attended Pace University in New York City and graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2009 with a Bachelor's degree in Psychology. She loved helping people and would address their needs before she addressed her own. After graduation from college, Christina was a certified Teacher's Aid and she worked at a school with severely disabled children who were in wheelchairs, couldn't speak, walk, or talk. She loved the children and the teachers loved her too. She was an advocate for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital as three of the children from the school were sent to the hospital. She took pride in her work and always went out of her way to assist in whichever way she could. She had an infectious smile that lit the world.

In assisting a child and preventing the child from falling, Christina fell and broke her ankle. She was prescribed opioids and from taking pain medicine, this led to using heroin. From this horrific disease of addiction, on March 8, 2016, Christina’s life, my only child, was taken from an accidental overdose to heroin. She was 28 years old.

Jen was a wonderful person. She was funny, caring, loving. I miss her every day. She was a sister to me. There were so many fun things we did together.

He always had a great love for all. Especially those in need of friendship. He would always invite all who had no where to go on a holiday to come over and celebrate with us. He had the biggest heart and soul. I always prayed he would see and feel what a beautiful person he was. Just being himself was a gift to all who knew him 🙏❤️ I miss and love him so much 🙏❤️

Alyssa was so lovely, had such a kind and gentle way, had so many god gifted talents, and was loved by so many wonderful people.  She will forever be in our hearts.  In her honor and memory, we support this organization to help others the best we can.