PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — On this Overdose Awareness Day, Philadelphia officials unveiled a victims’ memorial garden in Thomas Paine Plaza around the Municipal Services Building in Center City.
“Two months ago, we lost a beautiful soul in an overdose,” Ramon Cruz tearfully said about his son Christopher at the ribbon-cutting for the Overdose Memorial Garden, a one-month pop-up garden with daily activities about preventing overdoses, Narcan training, curbing addiction, and grief support.
Philadelphia Department of Public Health Bereavement Program Manager Laura Vargas was touched by the size of the crowd of victim families and loved ones who came Wednesday to the garden’s ribbon-cutting.
“It's heartbreaking to know that so many people have been impacted by substance use, but it’s also beautiful to see us all come out here in the name of love because, as our team is always telling everyone, grief truly is love,” said Vargas.
'I would give anything to have her here'
Kim Robinson-Presley’s grief and love for her daughter Kimera were clear at the ceremony.
“I would give anything, anything to have her here,” she said, with her voice cracking.
Nationwide, the CDC estimates more than 107,000 people died from a drug overdose in 2021. Experts say that's an increase of about 15% from the year prior.
According to data from the city's health department, more than 1,200 people in Philadelphia died from an overdose in 2020. Health officials still have not tallied the total number of overdose deaths in the city for 2021, but they expect it will be higher.
Mayor Jim Kenney said the city wanted to offer their families some comfort.
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“This garden is intended to spread awareness about this crisis and demonstrate the love that persists for those who’ve tragically been lost,” said Kenney.
“It’s easy to assume that Chris was just another person who chose to be an addict,” said Ramon Cruz. “But he was more than that to our family. Chris was a beautiful misunderstood soul [who was] so much more deserving than how his life ended.
The garden compliments a digital memorial, where families can post tributes to a loved one they lost to an overdose.
Read more details about the memorial garden’s activities in the document below.
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Destigmatizing overdose deaths
With thousands of families affected by the ongoing opioid and substance-abuse epidemic, International Overdose Awareness Day vigils and events were held all around the region.
Angie Carr, 69, joined such a vigil outside the Delaware County Courthouse in Media, Pa. Among the goals for those in attendance was to destigmatize their experience.
"Most people are afraid to admit that they have a child that died of an overdose. But if we don't let younger people know what's happening, it's going to happen in this generation, also," Carr said.
Carr is now taking care of her two great-granddaughters. Their mother, Alicia, died four years ago — a victim of substance abuse.
"She was a great mother, and then she met somebody that took drugs. And then she tried it. As much as I pounded it into her that, ‘Once you try it, you'll never get away from it,’ she did it,” Carr said. “And she could not get away from it."
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‘There's hope every single day’
Elsewhere in Philadelphia, a group walked about a half-mile to Kensington and Indiana avenues. Their goal also was to spread hope and to highlight the community groups and advocates who work locally to help people with substance abuse problems.
Heather Arata from Havertown represented one of those groups. She said she started the Opioid Crisis Action Network Recovery Fund after her son, Brendan, died several years ago. It helps pay for people's treatment and for housing during recovery.
"I think that the message is there is hope for people in recovery. There's hope every single day," said Arata.
Brendan’s dad, Larry, says he was 96 days sober when he relapsed.
"We're mourning, but we're mourning with a mission," he said.
In the U.S., more than 22 million people have overcome an addiction, according to a 2017 study from the Recovery Research Institute.