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

Dear Governor Kathy Hochul,
I am an ambassador for the Drug Epidemic Memorial Walls. I lost my beautiful son, Matthew, who
is forever 24. He suffered from the disease of addiction. After serving time in NY State prison for
drug related charges he was released to me, a single mother struggling in every way to make
ends meet while working two jobs and raising his much younger sister who was suffering from
mental health issues. It was not easy, and I received no assistance from anyone. I did the
absolute best I could. I loved my son just as you love your children. Matthew was the kindest and
most empathetic person you would ever want to meet. Unfortunately, because he was not given
any treatment for his disease while serving, my handsome boy died 72 days after his release for
an intoxication of drugs. Out of those 72 days home, he spent 28 of them in a NY rehabilitation
facility. My heart will never be the same without my son. I don’t want to see any other families go
through what I have been through, what his sister has been through. We as New Yorkers must
treat addiction and treat it as a medical issue - not a moral failing! There are many kids growing up
with no mom or dad, and their grandparents are raising them. This is a very sad and serious
situation.
We have about 140 people right now on our wall, and there are hundreds more that will follow
once the word gets out about our memorial wall. I plead with you as a mother and a human being
to help our beautiful state of NY. If we don’t stand up for our family who will? My son didn’t want to
die. He had dreams that he wanted to fulfill. He was a great son, brother, grandson, cousin, and
friend to everyone.
We are moving ahead and have had a lot of success with other states. I really hope we can set an
example for other states that we truly care about our people. My heart stopped that August
morning and I promised myself and Matthew that I would fight until my last breath on earth to
make certain that no parent should have to bury their child. Drugs, including fentanyl, are hitting
all communities in NY. I know you have children and grandchildren. 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 parents 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 Chinese
and Mexican Cartels. We are using the word “drugism” for the prejudice toward drug users - like
racism. Please hear our pleas for help in NYS. A group of our New York moms would love to meet
with you and work together to prevent this from happening to other families.
Sincerely,
Patricia Fell, Forever Matthew Herring’s mom
Dutchess County, NY
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