Hundreds honor lives lost to drugs at annual vigil

LYNN – Hundreds of people gathered together on the Lynn Common Friday evening as the sun set in the hazy summer sky to pay tribute to all those who have lost their lives to drugs.The 4th annual overdose vigil, sponsored by CAB Health & Recovery Services, Inc. was held to remember those lost and to give hope to those still struggling with addiction.Mary Wheeler, street outreach coordinator for CAB read a moving poem about saying goodbye and letting go to loved ones that brought tears to all in the crowd.”We’ve all lost so many people over the years, that we (CAB) thought it would be a good idea to start the vigil four years ago,” she said. “This is the largest crowd I have ever seen here and it’s probably because there is such a massive drug problem in the northeast and that the word has really gotten out about the vigil,” she said.Over 400 names out of roughly 1,000 who have died since 2004 were read aloud of those who passed away from a drug overdose.Some people in the crowd quietly wept as the names were read, some hugged their friends, and others lowered their heads and clutched their burning candles in silence.Phillip Leblanc, a Lynn resident, said he came to the vigil to pay homage to all of the friends and family members he has lost to drugs over the years.”I lost two uncles, two girlfriends and my mother’s boyfriend,” he said. “So this vigil is more about closure for me and a way to remember those people.”In recovery himself, Leblanc said while he sometimes feels as if people don’t care about drug users, he felt loved at the vigil.”When you come here, you feel as if people really care about us,” he said.For Susan Graciale, the event was a chance to begin the healing process after losing her friend last September to drugs.”I haven’t had the chance to grieve yet and I have a lot of issues to deal with, so this is a good place to sit and reflect,” she said. “And when I heard Mary (Wheeler’s) poem, it brought a tear to my eye.”A community non-profit substance abuse agency, CAB provides treatment, outreach and prevention to communities in northeastern Massachusetts and greater Boston.Wheeler said it is CAB’s hope that the vigil will create awareness for the need for restoration of funds for drug treatment and prevention and the importance of providing overdose prevention education in the community.