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

Dear First Lady MK Pritzker,
I am an ambassador for the Drug Epidemic Memorial Wall. I lost my lovely cousin, Matthew, on
May 8, 2021, at the age of forever 35. His friend found him deceased in the bathroom. Matthew
died of Fentanyl poisoning. His death was a complete shock to his children, siblings, an entire
neighborhood of friends, family, and as well as me. We mourn his daily presence in our lives.
Matthew was an intelligent man. Matthew and I have always had a remarkably close relationship
with each other ever since we were little kids. He made me proud. He was charismatic, kind, loved
to cook, silly, a huge Ohio State Buckeye and Cincinnati Bengals Fan, a father, son, brother,
cousin, nephew, uncle, grandson, and friend. I miss his laugh, his knowledge, his smile, his advice
when I needed something, his voice and his warm hugs. His death created a loss for more than
our family, an entire neighborhood in Portsmouth and Hillsboro Ohio. He was loved and respected
by his neighbors, and they suffered a great loss and feel eerily unsafe without him residing close
by. There are no descriptors for the loss his brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles,
cousins, father and stepmother and children are experiencing.
The grief, at times, is unspeakable, unbearable and unstoppable. Although Matthew died in Ohio, I
am a resident of Illinois. Illinois lost 3,762 lives to this epidemic in 2021, and I am committed to
ending these losses and honoring my cousin and the other children’s lives and memory.
I know you are an advocate for Early Childhood Development and Women’s Health. Our children
need to know the dangers presented to them daily around this epidemic. My cousin was one of
those that began his mental health journey when he had to go to the scene of an accident and
identify his younger sister’s body who was just struck and killed by a vehicle. He blamed himself
for her death and he was a child himself at the time. We need to address the grieving of all these
families. I am hopeful as a mother you will understand the urgency I and countless other mothers
and family members in Illinois feel towards ending this epidemic, educating our children, and
addressing the mental health of substance users as well as those in grief.
Would you assist us in finding a permanent location for a Drug Epidemic Memorial Wall within our
Capitol? We have created two memorial Walls. One with photos and one with names. I am
including Matthew’s frame, below.
These digital walls and albums update automatically. We would also like the photos displayed in
hard copy format. The wall of names can be projected on a wall so families can touch their loved
one's name. We would like our loved ones to be treated like victims. They were all victims of
Purdue Pharma (an American cartel) and many, many others. Now, they are victims of the
Chinese criminal networks and the Mexican Cartels. We are using the word “drugism” for the
prejudice toward drug users.
Illinois moms would love to meet with you and work together to prevent this from happening ever
again.
Sincerely,
Theresa Kluck, cousin of Matthew Fahnestock, Forever 35
Tinley Park, Illinois
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