At Robert Moses, mourners remember overdose victims, raise awareness

As waves crashed on the beach on Sunday morning, a few dozen grievers marched toward the waters, holding art memorials shaped like gravestones in remembrance of loved ones who died from an opioid overdose.

Parents and others convened at Robert Moses State Park as part of the Trail of Truth national tour to bring attention to opioid deaths and advocate for their reduction with solutions like better access to treatment.

Other places where the art installation had been displayed include the presidential debates in Atlanta and Philadelphia, according to Trail of Truth, which organizes the events.

"We need to be able to grieve out loud," Alexis Pleus, founder and executive director of Trail of Truth, told onlookers on Sunday. "We need to be able to show our loved ones there's no shame in how our loved ones died."

Pleus, who lost her eldest son to overdose, added: "It doesn't change who they were."

In New York, about 5,180 people died of opioid overdoses in 2023, a roughly 3% decrease from the prior years, the Department of Health said, citing estimates for the 2023 numbers. When not accounting for methadone, nearly all — about 93% — of the opioid deaths in the 2023 figures were from synthetic opioids like fentanyl.

But to those on the beach Sunday, people who died from opioid overdoses were more than a statistic. Instead, faces were shown in pictures on numerous memorials placed in the sand.

Many of them were young, the potential promise of their lives distilled in some signs reading: forever 33, forever 21, forever 15.

Carole Trottere, of Setauket, came to the event to commemorate the loss of her son, Alex Sutton. The 30-year-old died of fentanyl poisoning that she is sure he didn't know he was taking. He had dealt with depression and drug use.

Before he died in 2018, Trottere, 68, held out hope that his condition would improve with time in rehab. His death changed her life, she said.

"You think you know what you're going to do with the rest of your life, or you know what your" kids are going to do "and then everything changes," she said. "There's no hope left."

Today, she tries to help other parents with children dealing with addiction, doing training with police for a drug that can reverse an overdose from opioids.

"My goal now is to save someone else from this misery," she said.

People can tell Trail of Truth that they want a sign made for someone who died of an opioid overdose. Sometimes, families go to events to paint the memorials. Other times, Trail of Truth will paint them.

With the memorials surrounding them, participants meditated on Sunday. Several people shared remembrances of loved ones or how they coped with the loss.

Even after the event, organizers said the memorials would have a longer life. They will join more than 3,000 others collected thus far as part of the push for better outcomes.

By Tiffany Cusaac-Smith

tiffany.cusaac-smith@newsday.com@T_Cusaac

Education: Howard University 

Tiffany Cusaac-Smith came to Newsday in 2023 after being a race and history reporter at USA TODAY, where she wrote enterprise and spot articles examining how the past shapes the present. Previously, she worked as the race and justice reporter at the USA TODAY Network of New York, covering issues such as criminal justice reform, housing, environmental justice, health care and politics. At The Journal News/lohud.com in Westchester County, she covered Yonkers, the state's third-largest city. She also worked at The Associated Press in Atlanta.

Honors and Awards: Criminal justice reporting fellowship with the National Press Foundation;  New York News Publishers Association award for distinguished investigative reporting;  Contributed reporting for Best of Gannett honor; Member of Table Stakes, a program funded by the Knight-Lenfest Local News Transformation Fund and managed by the American Press Institute to transform local news.