Candlelight Vigil For Lives Lost To Tragic Opioid Crisis: Photos

HAMPTON BAYS, NY — Tears mixed with raindrops Saturday during a night of sadness and remembrance in Hampton Bays as mothers, fathers, family, loved ones and friends gathered in a circle of heartbreak to remember the bright lives cut short too soon to the darkness of the opioid crisis.

The Candlelight Vigil was held at Good Ground Park in Hampton Bays, sponsored by the Southampton Town Opioid Addiction Task Force.

The night, said Drew Scott, co-chair of the task force, was filled with music, Shinnecock drummers, and loving and tearful tributes from heartbroken relatives.

"It was sad but healing, and we all vowed to keep this epidemic before the public and not allow the 'stigma' to sweep this nightmare under a rug," he said.

For Scott, who lost his beautiful, talented granddaughter Hallie Ulrich to an overdose, who saw his life torn apart forever when she was found lifeless on a road in East Hampton, the event is deeply personal.

Scott said 400 candles will be lit for Suffolk County victims and 19 for Southampton Town victims.

Soft music played and Scott read a poem Hallie wrote.

As her grandfather, the night was filled with emotion, a reminder of a beautiful life cut short by the cold cruelty of addiction. "It's a bittersweet way to let people know what a beautiful and talented girl she was," he said. "I want people to know how she fought to end her opioid addiction — but time ran out for her."

Scott shared Hallie's words: "Shortly before she died, she wrote, "Seriously, though, story time, but not now, for I have grown weary, this day has made me tired, so I bid you farewell in hopes that I will receive lovely dreams from my subconscious . . . Good night."

And for all who have shared the pain, the vigil offered a chance for solace and shared memories.

"It is Mother's Day weekend. As such, we thought the Saturday night vigil would be poignant — to come together as a community to remember those who have been lost to the opioid epidemic," Scott said.

Patch courtesy photos.