VIDEO – THE SYMBOLISM OF LOSS –
Feb. 26, 2024 – Gabi Deaton’s The Black Balloon Project shares the stories of people who have died of an overdose through photos of their loved ones. Each photo is paired with a paragraph about the person lost, written by a friend or family member. She says the project is to help break the stigma surrounding substance use disorder. “I’m so grateful for these families to be willing to tell their stories, but I know that they don’t want to know me, and I don’t want them to have to know me on this context,” said Gabi Deaton, founder of The Black Balloon Project. “This year, we have 20 new families. So that’s 20 new individuals that have lost their lives to a drug overdose.”
Each photo is paired with a paragraph about the person lost, written by a friend or family member. Deaton says the project is an attempt to break the stigma surrounding substance use disorder.
“It’s not that picture that you see in the movies all the time. It’s not somebody who’s out always hurting people. It’s good people. It’s Mike Egan, who had three daughters, you know, it’s Logan’s mother, it’s these little boys’ father. Little boys aren’t supposed to carry their daddy, and they are in this photo,” said Deaton.
