Families who have lost loved ones to addiction gathered at Timber Creek Park in Blackwood, New Jersey, on Monday for Camden County’s 11th annual Remembrance and Hope Memorial Vigil.
The ceremony at the county’s Remembrance and Hope Memorial brought relatives and friends together to remember those who died from drug overdoses and to challenge the stigma surrounding addiction. The event was organised by the Camden County Board of Commissioners and the Addiction Awareness Task Force. ([fox29.com](https://www.fox29.com/news/families-honor-loved-ones-lost-overdose-11th-annual-vigil-camden-county))
Michelle Pandolfo attended to see her sister Ashley D Walter’s name engraved on the memorial. Ashley died from drug addiction in 2011.
“It says in loving memory Ashley D Walter, forever our angel,” Pandolfo said. She told the gathering that visiting the memorial brought her a sense of peace, despite the pain of losing her sister.
Pandolfo, who has been in recovery for eight years and now works in the field, brought her daughter Ariella to remember Ashley.
“She was my best friend, like from the time we were little we were always together, and she was just the most amazing sweet soul,” she said.
Before the ceremony, families laid flowers beside the names of their loved ones. The evening ended with a slideshow showing photographs of people who had died, offering relatives a chance to remember them for the lives they lived rather than the illness they faced.
Families call for compassion over addiction stigma
Patty DiRenzo, a Camden County programme coordinator who lost her son Salvatore Marchese, said he had been too ashamed to tell his doctor what he was experiencing.
“We have got to stop the stigma. People have to realise it’s a disease,” DiRenzo said. She added that she had promised to keep her son’s name alive and share his story so that his death would not be in vain.
Guest speaker Therese Benyola, vice-president for behavioural health at the Center for Family Services, also spoke about the lack of compassion often shown to families bereaved by addiction.
Benyola has lost both her brother, Christopher Waters, and her nephew, Michael Benyola, to drug overdoses. She urged people to remember those who died as individuals, rather than defining them by their substance use.
“I think it’s so important that you remember the person for who they were and not what they struggled with,” she said.
The Camden County memorial was established as a place where families affected by addiction can reflect and pay tribute to those they have lost. The county continues to hold an annual vigil around International Overdose Awareness Day, which is observed on 31 August. ([camdencounty.com](https://www.camdencounty.com/service/mental-health-and-addiction/in-memoriam/))
