100 Purple Rocks, Reading Of Names Of Lost LI Loved Ones, To Mark Overdose Awareness Day

LONG ISLAND, NY — A group of Long Island parents
and residents of Hope House in Mount Sinai will be turning grief into grace, one purple rock at a time on Wednesday.

One hundred purple rocks will be placed on the grounds of Hope House Ministries on Old Post Road in Mt. Sinai, to honor people lost to opioid and fentanyl from across the
country.

The Purple Rock Project is a program spearheaded by grieving parents who lost children to opioid overdoses. As part of the program, volunteers travel around to community spaces like fairs and farmers markets, educating the public about the dangers of opioid abuse. At their tables, the public can receive training in the use of Naloxone, which reverses overdoses, and paint purple rocks in remembrance of loved ones.

It started with Old Field resident Carole Trottere, who turned to activism after the overdose death of her son, Alex Sutton.

The ceremony will begin at 3 p.m., rain or shine, with the reading of the names of those lost. It will include some words by Purple Rock Project members-Carole Trottere, Lori Carbonaro, Claudia Friszell, Paulette Phillippe, and other parents.

The event, which will include residents of Hope House, is open to the public.

Hope House is located at 48 Old Post Road, Mt. Sinai.