On Friday, at Lighthouse Park in Biloxi, people from across the state came to the coast to celebrate Black Balloon Day. It was a day to not only remember loved ones lost to overdoses, but also to look forward.

Brenda Foster, lead nurse navigator for the Mississippi Department of Health was really excited with how the day was going. Talking above the music and busy crowd, she estimated that they’d have around 200 people there throughout the day. 

“A day of remembrance: let’s make it a day of celebration for recovery, too,” she said. “Let’s do it on the coast because there is a high overdose death rate here and let’s make a huge impact; and let this be a yearly event.”

“Let’s let it grow bigger and better so that people feel loved, encouraged and supported.” 

Part of the reason she was so excited is because this was actually their first Black Balloon Day: she said it all came out of the stories she and her team hears from people in recovery everyday. 

“When you hear their story of trauma and the past and things, you just can’t help but want to love on them,” she said. “When you hear them say, ‘Miss Brenda, I’m sober now, I have a job, I have my family back’ — oh my gosh, it makes it so worth it.”

“My peer navigators and I were always looking for thngs to do to really support families and people in recovery.”

Black Balloon Day was another way to do what Foster said they strive to do with all the people and families who come their way on a daily basis. 

“This means so much to me today to give them that support, encouragement,” Foster said. “It means so much to them.”

“We’ve just got to be there for each other, right?”