New Hampshire First Lady Valerie Sununu

Dear First Lady Valerie Sununu,
My name Is Kym Kennedy, and I am writing you regarding the First Ladies Drug Epidemic
Memorial Wall. Our goal is to have a Drug Epidemic Memorial Wall put up in all 50 state
Capitol buildings to honor our loved ones as victims of the drug crisis our country is
facing. Every one of our lost sons, daughters, moms, dads, siblings, husbands, wives,
grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends were so much more than what took their lives.
By displaying their names and faces in our State Capitol, they will continue to live on in
memoriam, rather than quietly becoming a statistic. The grieving and affected mothers
who are driving this campaign have accomplished so much already with the Virtual Drug
Epidemic Memorial Wall for every state, but we are not finished, and we need your help.
I lost my son at 23 years old son Tyler to fentanyl poisoning on June 24, 2017. I had sent
him to rehab in Florida to get the help he needed as at that time there was no help
available that was affordable in our area. On this day at 5:33pm I received the call that
my baby boy was gone. I remember it like it was yesterday. I had to board a plane and fly
to Florida to make arrangements to bury my youngest son. July 1st,1st I came home with
Tyler in a small box, and I had to tell his 2 little boys that their dad was gone. He worked
so hard to get sober and was doing so well, but the addiction came back in full force and
won.
Tyler didn't want to die. He had plans for the rest of his life that included being there for
his boys. He tried so hard to help himself and to find help, and every time he got clean
that drug was lurking in the shadows calling him back. I believe a memorial wall with the
names and faces of those lost to drugs in NH is a simple yet impactful way to keep not
just my sons name but others who have lost this battle memory alive. That is my biggest
fear, my son being forgotten, and I know others who have lost their loved ones to this
disease fear the same.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope you will take this into
consideration.
A grieving, but hopeful mother,
Kym Kennedy
Wilton, NH