March 6 is black balloon day, a national and international event bringing awareness to overdose deaths. Black Balloon Day was created by Diane and Lauren Hurley in remembrance of Greg Tremblay. Greg was a father of four, is the son-in-law of Diane and borther-in-law of Lauren. He died of an overdose when he was only 38 years old on March 6, 2015. Drug overdose has become the leading cause of accidental deaths in the US, with 67,367 drug overdose deaths in the United States in 2018.
If you know me personally you know addiction has rattled my family to its core and I know so many of you have similar stories. I have been struggling for years on ideas of how to honor not only my uncle, but the community of people around me who are suffering from the same loss and pain that my family has experienced and I was recently inspired by a similar session by a local photographer. With all of that being said I will be doing my own Black Balloon series.
I am looking for 25 individuals/families who are interested in participating and telling their story. I will be putting together a collection of photos, in the photo each person or family will be holding a framed photograph of their loved one(s) as well as a single black balloon for the person(s) you're honoring. These photos will be shared on social media, the caption of each image will be the name, birthdate, DOD, and a little information you want the world to know about the person(s) you loved who made this world a little brighter. I will supply the balloon(s) all I need from you is bring along a framed photograph of the person(s) you're honoring.
There will be a small session fee of $25, proceeds will be used to support recovery resources in our community.
In loving memory of TJ McKenzie, my hero.
