Bradenton vigil for families of addicts draws 200 who 'needed a place to let out loss'
BRADENTON -- A crowd estimated at 200 gathered in the Bradenton Riverwalk Amphitheater Sunday night to hold candles and listen to speakers, mostly just everyday people like themselves, talk about holes in their hearts.
The candlelight vigil was the first public event of a group called No Longer Silent, whose mission is to support family members of addicts and possibly addicts themselves.
"Hi, I'm Mariah Battaglia and I started No Longer Silent," Battaglia said, having to stop for applause. "I am overwhelmed."
Battaglia told the crowd that overdoses, especially with heroin, are currently off the charts in Manatee County. She also said that addiction affects whole families and that people suffering with the disease of addiction need love, not shame.
One after another, the people who climbed the steps of the amphitheater to address the crowd made it clear they were living the addiction problem in Manatee County.
Zackary Carter said that he has lost best friends and that he was not sure he could speak without crying.
"This is an epidemic, a horrible epidemic," Carter said. "The way we treat each other has to change. Friendship has been diluted. We all need to pay it forward. We need to be there for people. It's a disease folks, especially with this latest batch of Fentanyl that is out there."
Carter was speaking of a powerful synthetic opiate similar but even more powerful than morphine.
Julia Negron of Suncoast Harm Reduction Project drew applause when she told the crowd that her organization helped get new laws passed
this year regarding Naloxone. a fast-acting drug that, when administered during an overdose, blocks the effects of opioids on the brain and restores breathing within two or three minutes of administration.
"The new law permits medical professionals to prescribe Naloxone to a friend or family member," Negron said. "The law also permits those family members to give the drug."
After she spoke and sat back down, Negron said she could feel the emotion of the crowd.
"So much loss, so much sadness," she said. "Manatee County particularly has been hit hard. People needed a place to let out the loss."
Bill and Laura Sava needed a place to bring a picture of their daughter, Leanne, who died of an overdose on Dec. 11, 2014, at the age of 31.
Danny and Valentina Friddle needed a place to bring a picture of their daughter, Misty Dawn Hill, who died at age 18 on Sept. 26, 2001, due to painkillers.
Danny Friddle wanted drug users to know something he has realized.
"The people you leave behind never move on," Friddle said,
Valentina Friddle tries to move on. She gets by every day by thinking, "Celebrate life by giving life." This coming Oct. 17 will be the fifth blood donation drive she has held at House of Prayer Pentecostal Church in her daughter's name.
"You can't move on because there is a big hole in your heart," Valentina Friddle said.
Richard Dymond, Herald reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7072 or contact him via Twitter@RichardDymond.
This story was originally published July 13, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Bradenton vigil for families of addicts draws 200 who 'needed a place to let out loss'."