Dee Gillen created the Black Poster Project after losing her son, Scott, to an overdose. While preparing for an overdose awareness event in 2019, she felt it would be an impactful visual to have posters of lost loved ones displayed behind the event speakers.
What began with 50 awareness posters is now up to nearly 700. Each poster that enters the display is made at the request of the grieving family at no cost to them. The posters are collectively used in a moving exhibit that travels throughout New Jersey and New York to put a face on the disease of addiction—telling stories and sharing photos funnels grief into helping others.
A message from Dee Gillen on their website states, “The purpose of this project is not to make you sad. It is to help you understand what addiction is, how it happened to our family, how it can happen to you or your family, what to look for, and where to get help. At each event, we come with arms wide open to answer anything you may want to ask. We are grieving parents, family members, friends, and people in recovery, and we are here to talk or listen.
Yes, it is a very emotional experience.
But…if you have the opportunity to attend a Silent Memorial, I promise you will leave with more than you came with.”
This powerful project was recently displayed at Ramapo College in Mahwah.
www.theblackposterproject.com
