POUGHKEEPSIE – Patricia Fell scanned through the pictures on the Angels Across America trailer in Poughkeepsie on Wednesday but stared a little longer at one of them.
Her son, Matthew Herring, was included on the display at the Mental Health America of Dutchess County. The 24-year-old Fishkill resident died of a heroin overdose in 2017.
“It is a hard day and certain feelings will never go away,” Fell said. “But Matt’s name will never die, that’s for sure. We want to bring awareness to the opioid epidemic and I am grateful that sharing his story has helped some people.”
Angels Across America is dedicated to raising awareness about the drug epidemic by traveling the country to help stop the stigma and educate the public. The hundreds of Angels pictured on the trailer are some of the victims of overdoses. It was created by former Dutchess County resident Leslie Smith who lost his son, Jeremy, to an overdose in 2013.
“It was a day to reflect on the loved ones we lost and those on a journey to recovery,” said Fell, who runs the Matt Herring Foundation, which helps spread addiction awareness. “By seeing the display and talking about it, people can hopefully get help and get well.”
Smith is more than 5,000 miles into his Angels Across America Drug Epidemic Awareness Ride, which began in March. The display will be at the Drug Overdose Awareness Memorial on East Main Street in Walden from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), more than 106,000 people in the U.S. died from drug-involved overdose in 2021, including illicit drugs and prescription opioids. Deaths involving synthetic opioids other than methadone (primarily fentanyl) continued to rise with 70,601 overdose deaths reported during the same year.
