Please join us in honoring the beautiful souls that we have tragically lost to substance use in the Philadelphia area. PhillyHEALs’ 2022 Memorial project will consist of an in-person pop-up memorial garden in Center City Philadelphia, as well as an ongoing virtual memorial site.

The garden will be open from August 31 (International Overdose Awareness and Memorial Day) through September 30. The garden will be on the east side of Thomas Paine Plaza (1401 JFK Blvd. Philadelphia, PA 19102). The opening ceremony for the garden will take place on Wednesday, August 31 at noon. The virtual memorial site will go live on August 1st. Additional programming will continue in the garden throughout the time the garden is up. Our goal is to create a space for hope and healing for bereaved survivors, a space that humanizes individuals lost and increases public awareness, and decreases stigma about the overdose crisis that claimed 1200+ Philadelphians in 2021, and a space that empowers bereaved survivors to educate stakeholders and individuals in the field.

Bereaved survivors will have the opportunity to tag a flower (if you are not local or unable to come to the garden, we can tag it on your behalf) with their loved one’s name and/or submit their photo and story for the virtual site. You can sign up for both options here. Through your completion of this form, we will add you to the list to receive information on events that will take place at the garden. Everything is completely free of charge. Please note that you do not need to be a relative to honor somebody in this memorial, individuals are encouraged to honor friends, colleagues, peers, clients, etc.

PhillyHEALs (Healing and Empowerment After Loss) is the Philadelphia Department of Public Health’s Division of Substance Use Prevention and Harm Reduction’s Bereavement Care Program for loss due to substance use. To learn more about our other services, please visit www.phila.gov/griefsupport

If you feel uncomfortable completing this form or have questions, you can contact the Bereavement Care Program Manager, Laura Vargas, directly by phone (267-354-0715) or email (Laura.Vargas@Phila.gov)

Pagina en Espanol: www.tinyurl.com/conmemorando