Families turn grief into action against overdose crisis on Black Balloon Day in Biloxi

BILOXI, Miss. (WLOX) — On March 6, families and communities across the country gathered for Black Balloon Day, a national day of remembrance for those lost to overdose.

On March 6, families and communities across the country come together for Black Balloon Day,... — On March 6, families and communities across the country come together for Black Balloon Day, transforming personal grief into a powerful, national call to confront the overdose crisis.(WLOX)

Lisa Shoemake attended the event to honor her son, Tristan, whose face appeared on a sign bearing the images of people lost to overdose. Tristan died from fentanyl.

“Never seen the death of my child coming, and definitely not from a drug overdose,” Shoemake said.

Shoemake said her family had spoken openly with Tristan about the dangers of drugs.

“We taught him the dangers of drugs,” she said. “If he went and spent the night, he had to be polite and not take something even their mother offered unless me or his grandmother approved it. So, he knew the dangers of drugs.”

“It does not care.”

Shoemake said her goal in attending was to warn others about the dangers of fentanyl.

“This drug, it does not care,” she said. “It doesn’t care if you’re rich, it doesn’t care if you’re poor and it doesn’t care if you’re knowledgeable. It can kill you that quickly.”

She said the event is about more than mourning.

“That’s why we do this. It’s not for our dead children, it’s in honor of them, and we hope that if one of their faces can save a life, then we’re successful,” Shoemake said.

Mental health and overdose prevention

Coastal Family Health Center also participated in Black Balloon Day, providing the community with information about overdose and mental health resources.

Licensed professional counselor LaKeshia Fisher said mental and physical health are closely connected.

“It goes hand in hand: you can’t have medical wellness without mental health wellness, so most people don’t understand that you can’t treat one without the other,” Fisher said.

Fisher said people in crisis often turn to substances because other options feel out of reach.

Coastal Family Health Center also participated in Black Balloon Day, providing the community... — Coastal Family Health Center also participated in Black Balloon Day, providing the community with information about overdose and mental health resources.(WLOX)

“It’s easier sometimes to just use marijuana, or drink alcohol, or even find an illicit drug on the street, so what we like to do is just help people understand that, like, we’re here,” she said.

Fisher said a person’s history with substance use does not define them.

“Just because you may have used or abused a substance before, that’s not your whole story. That’s not who you are. You just need to know that somebody cares enough to make sure that’s not the whole part of you, so we can transition into a better way of life,” Fisher said.

Shoemake said the sign bearing the faces of overdose victims is meant to reach as many people as possible.

“Somebody might not walk by and connect with Tristan, but they might walk by and connect with Callie, or Hannah, or Alex,” she said. “One child or family that sees that face, and for some reason it grabs them, and they remember, ‘Don’t trust that person, or don’t take that,’ then we did what we’re supposed to do.”

Drug overdose remains the leading cause of accidental death in the U.S.

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