For six years, my life was consumed by attempts to access effective treatment for my son. We were often guided by stigma and misinformation and were not equipped with the knowledge and tools to overcome his opioid addiction. As is common for so many of us, I dove into advocacy after losing Tyler in October 2020. Without the daily distraction of keeping him alive, it’s easy to see where the barriers and failures were. I am committed to removing the unfounded, false perceptions associated with substance use disorder. I believe this loss is a call to action for us to use our collective, fierce, unconditional love to transform our toxic culture into a more compassionate connected society.

I’ll never forget waking to the call telling us that our grandson Tyler had finally lost his battle with addiction at just 24. Now I want to do whatever I can to help Susan offer comfort and aid to those who are dealing with this devastating loss.

I wear many different hats as Owner/President of Carter PublishIng Studio, Inc.—graphic designer, art director, publishing manager, consultant. But I spend as much of my free time as possible digging in the dirt, and as a devoted gardener I deeply believe in the healing power of nature.

Ali lost her best friend, her brother Dylan, to overdose in 2021, and since then she’s made it her mission to use her boundless energy and determination to help connect those with substance use disorder to the resources they need. As a person in long-term recovery, she understands the discrimination many face and is able to assist in accessing resources. To honor her brother, she started a community outreach project, known as Dylan’s Hope Dealers. Multiple times each week, she and her dedicated volunteers collect donations of basic needs items and distribute them to anyone in need in the Kensington section of Philadelphia. She welcomes the help of anyone who’d like to get involved and encourages everyone to find Dylan’s Hope Dealers on Facebook for more information. You can also email Ali at Ali@vilomahgardens.org.

During her time working in sub-acute healthcare, Sandra learned how to be an effective patient advocate, but she was not prepared for the barriers that stigma created when she found herself advocating for her son’s medical and mental health treatment. After being prescribed opioids for an injury at just 15 years old, Jeffrey’s journey would include many system failures, spanning from methadone clinics to the cardiologists who denied him the surgery that could have saved his life. Since losing 24-year-old Jeffrey in 2012, Sandra has hosted local events on International Overdose Awareness Day, participated in national rallies, and continues to share Jeff’s heartbreaking story while advocating for drug policy reform in her home state of California as well as Washington DC. Her goal is to see a Ryan White-type program in the future for IVDU-related endocarditis.

I am a mom who is passionate about creating a gentler path for our youth and contributing to a movement focused on producing better outcomes for those with substance use disorder and all other vulnerable populations. My professional career includes experience as a comptroller for a specialty healthcare finance group and as the president of a medical fraud, waste, and abuse prevention and remediation company.