COVINGTON, Ky. — Members of the public and families attended the Black Balloon Project, on display at the Life Learning Center in Covington, honoring the lives of those lost due to an overdose.

"Grief is so diverse, and everybody's grief looks different," said Gabi Deaton, the project's creator. 

Deaton began the project in 2019, photographing the family and friends of those who lost a loved one to an overdose in Kentucky and Ohio. However, she eventually had to add 20 new photographs, meaning 20 more people who lost their lives. 

Throughout the event, Deaton engaged with families who had lost a loved one. She said while the project is difficult to see, its goal is to inspire people to become more informed and empathize with individuals who have lost their lives.

"One of the biggest things that we're trying to combat is that stigma attached to these people's lives," Deaton said. 

Heather Craddock, who lost her daughter nearly 10 years ago, said she wanted her photo taken to share that her daughter was loved.

"My hope is that the stigma goes away, the judging goes away, that these are not homeless, living under a bridge, uneducated, uncared about, unloved people," Craddock said. "These are family members that we love and unfortunately made a bad decision once."

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 109,000 drug overdose deaths occurred in the U.S. in 2022, and nearly 70% involved synthetic opioids other than methadone, primarily illegally manufactured fentanyl.

“We all make mistakes; we all make bad choices," Deaton said. "I don't think that any of these people in these photos realize that the choice they made one time was going to affect the rest of their life."

As long as addiction remains an issue in the U.S., Deaton said, she’ll continue taking photos and sharing the stories of others.