If you’re driving around Friday and see buildings and houses festooned with black balloons, there’s a reason. And it’s a sobering one.
“Black Balloon Day,” is more than simply a local phenomenon. Its founder, Diane Hurley, says the movement went global from Day 1, which was in 2016.
The day commemorates victims of addiction, but it also puts focus on aspects of addiction intervention.
“We had a comedy night in October and the money we raised we used to give certificates to people who can’t afford to get into a program. At that point, they might not have a supportive family anymore,” she said.
Hurley said proceeds from the event also used to give a gift to a sober house.
Hurley began it on the first anniversary of her son-in-law’s death (due to addiction issues), because she didn’t want her grandchildren to feel as if they were alone.
“Originally we asked people to hang one outside their homes or places of work in honor of people who lost their battle with addiction,” said Hurley. “If everyone put out a balloon to honor someone they lost, we wouldn’t be able to get away from those balloons.”
The idea came about when Hurley and her sister were in Florida, planning a memorial mass for their father. Hurley got the idea to do something for her son-in-law and came up with the balloon concept.
She had her daughter put the idea out on Facebook, and as a result, 42,000 people from locations throughout the world took part. And it’s grown since then, and it’s become somewhat sophisticated too.
“Some people get fancy,” she said. “They buy (the balloons) from Amazon and put names on them. I understand there’s a woman in Lynn who’s going to make them and put people’s names on them too.”
If you travel up Route 1 toward the Lowell Street exit in Peabody, you’ll even see a billboard advertising Black Balloon Day.
