USA First Lady Dr. Jill Biden and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff

Dear First Lady Cathy Justice,
I am an ambassador for the Drug Epidemic Memorial Wall. This is a nationwide initiative
that seeks to establish a memorial wall in each of our 50 states, that will memorialize the
victims of the fentanyl crisis currently plaguing our country. We are asking for your support
to have such a wall erected in our capitol or nearby.
My son, Robbie Thompson, died from an overdose that was laced with fentanyl, on July
31, 2020. He will be Forever 33. He had difficulties with addiction most of his life, and
had been in at least 13 treatment or detox centers before he died. He struggled with the
shame and stigma that came with drug abuse and I believe that led to his death: he was
struggling and was too proud to ask for help.
Six months before he died, he had completed a 30-day treatment program in New Jersey
and moved into a sober living house where he lived for six months. His girlfriend also lived
in a sober living house. He found out she was having a baby, and he so wanted to be
“normal” and be able to bring the baby to their new home, so they got an apartment
together and planned to get married. His daughter was born on July 11, 2020, and his
girlfriend found him nonresponsive on July 31, 2020, just two weeks later. He died, we
think, from a one-time slip combination of drugs that included fentanyl. He was just 33.
The Drug Epidemic Memorial Wall is an effort to establish a place of remembrance of
those who are victims of the drug crisis that is perpetrated by the Chinese and by the
Mexican Cartels. They are responsible for over 100,000 deaths in the last year alone.
The Memorial Wall will remember them and will also increase public awareness, so that
one day we will win the war we are fighting to keep our citizens safe from harm.
We have created two digital walls, one with photos of our loved ones and one with names,
inspired by the Vietnam War Memorial. Our real goal is to be able to establish a
permanent wall with each person’s face on a tile to be hung where it can be easily viewed.
These will be places where loved ones can visit, reflect, and reminisce.
I respectfully ask you to help us find a place for this project. A group of moms would love
to meet with you to discuss this. We look forward to speaking with you in person.
Sincerely yours,
Linda deMattia
Lewisburg, West Virginia
Robbie died in Collingswood, New Jersey
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