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

Dear First Lady Lori Shapiro,
I am writing to you on behalf of the Drug Epidemic Memorial Walls as an Ambassador.
I lost my beautiful and only child, Ava Michelle Howland to Illicit Fentanyl Poisoning at the
age of 24 on May 11, 2018. She struggled with Mental Illness and Substance Use
Disorder (SUD). We both fought very hard for her life, navigating the difficult and
sometimes corrupt systems for care and treatment. Ava didn’t want to die but was
poisoned to death by Illicit Fentanyl which is now taking the lives of so many people here
in Pennsylvania and across the nation. Ava was a bright, beautiful soul who loved with all
her heart. She was kind, creative and very smart. I miss my only child Ava very much.
How does a parent go on after the poisoning death of their only child? The answer is we
advocate so that no other Mother or family will walk in our very ugly shoes.
Children are our future, yet we are now losing generations to the Opioid & Fentanyl crisis
which is now taking 300 lives a day. I know you have children and grandchildren. Would
you please assist us in finding a permanent location for a Drug Epidemic Memorial Wall
within our Capital? We have created two memorial Walls. One with photos and one with
names. I am including Ava’s frame below. I am also including the hyperlink to the brochure
of virtual memorial walls, albums, and our awareness campaign.
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.
Many were victims of Big Pharma who flooded the streets with pills which led to the crisis
we now have with Fentanyl. Our children and loved ones that have died are VICTIMS of
bad actors from China and the Mexican Cartels that have been flooding the streets of
America with Illicit drugs and now Illicit Fentanyl. My Daughter Ava was a VICTIM and
deserves to be remembered with dignity and honor as does all the children & families
who’s loved ones have been added to this wall.
A group of our Pennsylvania Moms would love to meet with you and work together to
bring attention and awareness to this horrific crisis in hopes that it provides a muchneeded
level of prevention, awareness and help break the stigma our families and loved
ones who died endured and people that are suffering now endure every day.
Sincerely,
Deborah Howland (Mother of Ava Michelle Howland, Deceased)
Drexel Hill, PA
https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/67297865/links-to-virtual-memorial-wallsalbums-
and-awareness-campaign
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