The Addiction Prevention Coalition is excited to announce our new partnership as the custodian of the Into Light Project, a powerful art exhibition created to memorialize those who have lost their lives due to overdose and substance use.
What is the Into Light Project?
The Into Light Project is a national nonprofit that is using art and storytelling to confront one of the most stigmatized public health issues of our time: substance use disorder. The nonprofit was founded by Jeanine Michna-Bales after she lost her son Devin to an overdose.
It all started when Jeanine decided to get back into doing graphite drawings. As a way to cope with her grief, she drew a portrait of him. That portrait turned into a larger mission: using art to remember other people who also lost their lives to substance use-related causes.
Today, each Into Light exhibit features up to 41 hand-drawn portraits of people from the state where it’s displayed. Alongside each portrait is a short story written by a loved one that shares who they were, their personality, their dreams, and the things that they loved.
When the exhibit ends, each portrait is given to the person’s family as a gift.
This project helps put human faces and real-life stories to a nationwide crisis that’s often talked about in numbers and headlines. It helps remind people that these individuals are real people–not just “drug users” or “overdose victims,” but that they are sons, daughters, parents, and friends.
APC’s Partnership with the Into Light Project
As the Alabama custodian of the Into Light Project, Project, APC will take care of the portraits and help share them across the state.
We believe that when more people see these stories, the more the stigma around substance use disorder can start to break, and when the stigma breaks, more people will feel safe in getting the help they deserve. We’re proud to be a part of this important work!
If you have questions about the art or would like to utilize the photos at an event, please contact info@apcbham.org.
The Impact of Overdose on Communities
In 2023, more than 107,000 people lost their lives to a drug overdose.[1] That’s more than car crashes and gun deaths combined. These losses are heartbreaking, and they affect more than just the person who died. Families, neighborhoods, schools, and workplaces all feel the impact.
But even with numbers this high, substance use disorder is still one of the most misunderstood health issues in America. People living with substance use disorder often get judged, not helped. Instead of support, they face shame, silence, or rejection. That makes it harder for them to speak up or reach out.
Families who lose a loved one to overdose may feel like they can’t even talk about what happened. The fear of being blamed or pitied adds to their grief. That’s why it’s so important to change how we talk about substance use and how we treat the people affected by it.
The Power of Artwork
Art has a special way of reaching people in ways that words, statistics, and headlines cannot. Visual depictions of real people with complex lives and stories can make you stop, feel, and think. The Into Light Project uses this power to educate people on substance use as well as challenge stigmatizing misconceptions or preconceived ideas about people who use drugs.
The project also gives families a chance to share the full story of their loved one, not just how they died, but how they lived and what made them smile. These portraits show people with big smiles, silly jokes, hobbies, talents, and dreams. They are stories of love, not just loss, and we couldn’t be more honored to help share these stories.
To learn more about the national project, visit intolightproject.org.
References:
- https://www.dea.gov/press-releases/2024/12/16/overdose-deaths-decline-fentanyl-threat-looms
