Trail of Truth held its annual day of remembrance for lives lost to substance abuse and overdose at the Broome County Courthouse on Saturday.

The event had a wide variety of healing activities and opportunities to remember victims of overdose and those who have lost their lives to addiction, including family art activities, a grief share circle and free Narcan training. The National Memorial Cemetery, an arts installation containing dozens of tombstones painted and decorated by those who have experienced the loss of a loved one due to substance abuse, opened at 12 p.m. According to Trail of Truth, many families do not have a designated space to remember those they have lost, which the cemetery is meant to help provide.

“You will see families spending time at their loved one’s tombstone, children getting pictures taken next to their parent’s tombstone, and mementos of love, much like you would see in a real cemetery,” Trail of Truth said on their website.

Trail of Truth is an organization that advocates for barrierless access to addiction treatment and honors those lost to substance abuse and overdose. Founded in 2016 in response to a pattern of undercounted overdose deaths in Broome County, the first march was organized to object to the erasure of lost lives while providing an outlet for grieving families and individuals to honor their loved ones.

In 2024, the organization went on a national tour to demand that elected officials take the Sensible Opioid Spending Pledge, which includes commitments to responsible and transparent spending for opioid settlement funds, to support directly impacted individuals in policy, to oppose punitive measures, and to advocate for families affected by substance abuse to impact opioid policy.

Several speakers presented at the event, ranging from experts in the field to those sharing personal stories from their journey with substance use. According to Trail of Truth, the intention behind this segment is to host a program to comfort grieving families and individuals, and to inspire those who are considering or actively on the path to recovery, all while taking into account the sensitivity of the topic.

The event concluded with a memorial march to the governmental plaza. Commemorative tombstones were placed alongside the courthouse, where family members and friends gathered to write heartfelt messages to those they have lost. Supporters left impactful notes, and those who were grieving could leave a lasting reminder in these spaces for passersby.

“For both the public and lawmakers, we hope the images of the Trail of Truth evoke empathy, but more importantly, that they cause people to recognize the scale of the issue and the magnitude of the impact to everyone who loved the individuals in the memorial cemetery,” said Trail of Truth. “We want people to understand that these deaths are senseless and preventable. We hope it compels lawmakers to urgently address the issue by listening to the voices of directly impacted people who know how the systems have failed them.”