APPLETON (NBC 26) — The sixth annual Lights of Hope walk in Appleton displayed over 100 signs at Pierce Park, each telling the story of a person who died from an overdose.
- The Lights of Hope Walk was held on Sunday, Sept. 8 at Pierce Park in Appleton
- At the event, people shared resources for recovery and stories of addiction
- Bev Kelley-Miller started the event in memory of her daughter who died from an overdose when she was 22.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story, with additional details for the web.)
Bev Kelley-Miller points out her daughter Megan's face on a quilt she made of victims of overdoses in Wisconsin.
Megan died of an overdose nine years ago.
“So people people say their names, and keep their memories alive," Kelley-Miller said.
The quilts were on display at Pierce Park in Appleton Sunday as part of the Lights of Hope walk.
“We are actually celebrating recovery, but at the same time, bittersweet, we are also recognizing and remembering our loved ones who have died," Kelley-Miller said.
Kelley-Miller started the annual event to break down the stigma behind overdose deaths, and to bring about policy change in the state of Wisconsin.
“I'm hoping that eventually our policies change, the stigmas go away, and we can get people help right away in the beginning, instead of getting it to the point where people are incarcerated," she said. "Also that we treat it as a medical condition so that more people can live. Because, you know, dead people can never recover, right?”
More information on Kelley-Miller's foundation– the Megan Kelley Foundation– can be found on her website.
