'Thousands Grieving': Families Of LI's Purple Rock Project Remembers Loved Ones Lost To Opioids, Fentanyl

LONG ISLAND, NY — By placing one purple rock at a time — more than 100 — for their loved ones lost to drug overdoses at a memorial garden at Hope House in Mount Sinai a group of Long Island parents turned their grief into grace to recognize Overdose Awareness Day on Wednesday for The Purple Rock Project.

The project is spearheaded by grieving parents who lost children to opioid overdoses. As part of the project, volunteers travel around to community spaces like fairs and farmers’ markets, educating the public about the dangers of opioid abuse. At their tables, the public can receive training in the use of Naloxone, which reverses overdoses, and paint purple rocks in remembrance of loved ones.

The parents and grandparents, who have lost loved ones to the opioid/fentanyl epidemic, were joined by several residents of Hope House, in reading each name and then placing the rock beneath a tree.

The rocks, painted by a group of moms from the Warrior Angel Project, feature the names and faces of the people lost to opioids and fentanyl from both Long Island, and almost every state across the country. The rocks were requested by people who wanted to memorialize their loved ones.

The group's founder, Carole Trottere, who lost her son, Alex Sutton in 2018, said, “The opioid/fentanyl crisis has left behind thousands of grieving family members across this nation."

“Knowing that someone is saying their loved one’s name and not forgetting them, means so much to them," she said. "The comments that we have gotten from parents are so moving and heartfelt, that I know that this undertaking is worth every second that we spend on it."

The Purple Rock Project has two other locations: in Islip, at 550 South Bay Avenue, and at the lakeside park next to the Town of Babylon Town Hall, 200 Sunrise Highway, Lindenhurst.