Long Island moms head to D.C. to remember children lost to drugs at Trail of Truth event
Carole Trottere, of Old Field, holds a picture of her son in June at an event in support of nonprofits that provide addiction services. Trottere, whose son, Alex Sutton, died of fentanyl poisoning in 2018, will be among a group of Long Island "Warrior Angel Moms" and their supporters Saturday in Washington, D.C., for an event to memorialize loved ones lost to drugs. Credit: Newsday/Drew Singh
They call themselves, informally, "Warrior Angel Moms," a group of 10 or so Long Island mothers who've lost children to drug overdose.
The moms, along with drug treatment experts, advocates and other supporters, are headed to Washington, D.C., for the Trail of Truth event, where loved ones will be memorialized Saturday on the National Mall with an art installation featuring handcrafted tombstones representing the loss felt by so many families.
"There'll be 3,000 tombstones from around the country representing people we've lost," said Carole Trottere, of Old Field. According to the Trail of Truth website, more than 3,500 tombstones, painted by artists, activists and community members, will be on display in the "National Memorial Cemetery." There also is a full day of programming planned that includes speakers, performances and "healing opportunities."
"This is a shocking and visual way to show the amount of loss that this country has experienced. That's a fraction of the loss," said Trottere, whose son, Alex Sutton, died of fentanyl poisoning in 2018 at age 30.
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
- A group of 10 or so Long Island mothers who've lost children to drug overdose are set to attend a related memorial event in Washington D.C.
- The group, informally known as "Warrior Angel Moms," will take part in the Trail of Truth memorial Saturday on the National Mall, where more than 3,500 tombstones, painted by artists, activists and community members, will be on display to represent the loss of a child to drug overdose.
- According to the New York State Health Department's County Opioid Quarterly Reports, citing preliminary data as of April 2025, there were 5,226 opioid deaths in 2023 statewide, which included 393 in Suffolk County and 170 in Nassau County.
Trottere is active with organizations that help people with substance-use issues and their families, such as the Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence and the affiliated Gabriel's Giving Tree, which raises money to help families in need who have lost loved ones to substance use disorders. She also has her own Purple Rock Project, where people can write the name of a loved one lost to drugs on purple-painted rocks as a memorial tribute.
A photo of Nicholas Carbonaro, who was 22 in 2014 when he died of a heroin overdose. His mother, Lori Carbonaro, of Selden, is headed to Washington, D.C., to memorialize the life of her son and those of others lost to drugs. Credit: Courtesy: Lori Carbonaro
Lori Carbonaro, of Selden, is again headed to Washington to memorialize her son Nicholas, who died of an overdose 11 years ago at age 22.
"He was in recovery, but he relapsed," she said.
"It just hits you like a ton of bricks when you see [the tombstones]," said Carbonaro, a peer parent advocate for LICADD and co-founder of Gabriel's Giving Tree. "It's impactful. My son was more than what happened to him, what he died of. We want to remember." She added for her, "it's a healing experience."
Among supporters set to join the Long Island moms Saturday are a peer advocate and author, and the executive director of the Westbury-based LICADD, which provides an array of counseling, treatment and recovery support services.
Jason Mayo, of Bellmore, a peer advocate at a THRIVE recovery center, is set to be featured at the Trail of Truth's author showcase. Mayo has written a newly published memoir, "In Case of Emergency, Break Childhood," which recounts addiction and mental health issues.
"I'm in long-term recovery," Mayo said. "I got sober back in 2010."
Mayo said he will be attending a Trail of Truth event for the first time.
"I had no idea the community was this large and this strong," he said.
Steve Chassman, executive director of LICADD, said the D.C. event, held every other year, draws "attention to one of the worst crises. ... Right here on Long Island, we're losing up to 400 people in Suffolk every year, and around the same amount in Nassau."
Jeffrey Reynolds, president and CEO of Garden City-based Family and Children's Association, a human services agency that provides addiction prevention, treatment and recovery services, said while FCA was not sponsoring a bus, "many of our THRIVE recovery center participants are going." He said while overdose fatalities "are starting to tick down, 80,000 Americans are still dying each year, and until that number dwindles to zero, there's still work to be done."
According to the New York State Health Department's County Opioid Quarterly Reports, citing preliminary data as of April, there were 5,226 opioid deaths in 2023 statewide, which included 393 in Suffolk County and 170 in Nassau County that year. The report showed most of the deaths involved synthetic opioids other than methadone, such as fentanyl.
Chassman said of those traveling to the event: "Most importantly, these are family members who will be with each other who've incurred great loss."
The tombstones are a visual reminder of that loss.
Carbonaro said Long Islanders will bring more than 100 tombstones, adding, "They're still making them as we speak."
