Grieving families honor lost loved ones on Overdose Awareness Day
For many families who have lost a loved one to addiction, talking can be a form of healing.
Grieving families gathered at Signature Flight Support at the Santa Barbara Airport on Saturday to do just that, talking about loved ones they have lost to drug and alcohol addiction on International Overdose Awareness Day.
Santa Barbara organization SafeLaunch, which works to fight addiction and help those who are struggling, hosted the event to allow people to speak openly about their lost loved ones.
“What happens to a lot of parents when they lose a child is they don’t have the opportunity to say their child’s name anymore,” SafeLaunch co-founder Janet Rowse said. “It’s so important for them in their healing and through their grief to be able to share and talk about their child because they’re going to be grieving forever. And so, we want them to have a safe place to remember them on this special day.
Families from as far away as Reno, Nevada gathered to speak and paint loved ones’ names on a plane owned by SafeLaunch co-founder Ron Cuff. SafeLaunch uses the plane to fly across the country and meet families who are struggling with addiction.
Organizers say the conversations not only help these families heal, but also keep an important conversation moving forward. SafeLaunch says addiction kills about 200 young Americans every day.
“We feel like there’s far too much stigma attached to the disease of addiction,” Cuff said. “It really is a disease. Nobody chooses addiction. Ninety percent of it starts before age 18.”
The event’s message is that addiction can affect anyone at any age. Darcy Patterson lost her daughter Kirsten to addiction two years ago. She says she is still grieving, but came to the event to remember Kirsten and talk with others who are mourning.
“I came because I want to honor my daughter, but I also want to meet others who have lost,” she said. “Because that’s how we can talk about our kids. We can say their names.”
To learn more about SafeLaunch, you can visit their website here.
