LEXINGTON, Ky. — Above an empty chair inside Voices of Hope’s recovery community center in Lexington are the faces of people lost to overdose.  

The chalkboard reads, “This chair symbolizes the emptiness felt when we lose a loved one from an overdose.” 

It’s an emptiness Ashley Berkshire knows.

“It was just the absolute worst thing that I’ve ever experienced, like, you know I never ever would have thought that like I would be able to make it through it,” she told Spectrum News 1. 

Berkshire, the program coordinator for Voices of Hope, is a Lexington mother in recovery from addiction. 

She lost her boyfriend Danny to an overdose in 2020; she said. 

“It’s not really something you can understand till you’ve gone through that and so having that community of people all just come together means a lot,” said Berkshire. 

The photos are part of the Empty Chair Campaign for Overdose Awareness Day, on display at the center and on the Voices of Hope Facebook page. August is Overdose Awareness Month. 

A state report shows 2,250 people died from a drug overdose in Kentucky last year, a nearly 15% increase from 2020. 

“We are just trying to remind people that it’s not just a number, that these people were children, fathers, mothers, brothers and they all have stories that are very valuable and it’s not just a number on a page, that they have value to their life and there’s an emptiness that’s left in those families when they’re gone,” said David Brumett, the program manager. 

Voices of Hope hosts meetings and support groups and offer what are called harm reduction supplies, like strips to test substances for fentanyl and the overdose-reversing drug Narcan. 

“I think that every single person should have Narcan,” said Berkshire. “I mean, if it would save just one life, it’s worth it.”