Billboard at busy Chicago intersection highlights pain of losses from fentanyl overdoses

By Charlie De Mar

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    CHICAGO (WBBM) — “Fentanyl steals loved ones”— that is the message on a billboard in Chicago’s Roscoe Village neighborhood featuring the faces people who died of overdoses.

March 6 is Black Balloon Day, in memory of those lives lost. But there are some encouraging new numbers on fighting the opioid epidemic in Illinois.

The billboard, with its ominous message and array of photos, is mounted on the side of a building at the busy intersection of Damen and Belmont avenues.

“It destroys families,” said Monica Scalise. “I can tell you that my life is not the same anymore.”

Scalise’s daughter, Tiffany Reeves, is one of the 11 faces on the billboard. She overdosed in Bridgeview in 2022 at the age of 27.

“I don’t think I ever stopped to grieve,” said Scalise. “I’ve just been fighting ever since.”

Scalise ties black balloons onto her front porch every March 6 in her daughter’s honor.

“Black Balloon Day is to remember everyone that, you know, people that have overdosed; people that have been poisoned from fentanyl,” she said.

Cindy Anne DeMaio also lost her daughter to an overdose.

“Once you stick a needle in your arm, you’re in recovery for life,” she said.

DeMaio launched the billboard project across the country to raise awareness and empower other families who have been touched by the opioid epidemic.

“I just thought, hey, let’s do billboards,” she said.

DeMaio’s daughter, Rachel, was 17 years old when she overdosed in 2016.

“When we all gather and stand in front of this billboard, we feel like our kids’ voices are being heard,” DeMaio said.

As grieving families like Scalise’s remember their loved ones on this Black Balloon Day, the State of Illinois has released new data that show overdose deaths actually decreased 8% in 2023.

Increased efforts to distribute naloxone or Narcan, the availability of fentanyl test strips, and community outreach are just some of the factors the Illinois Department of Public Health said have led to the decline.

But for the families torn apart by the opioid crisis, the fight is far from over.

“If it can save a life, I know my daughter wouldn’t want this to happen to anybody else — and that’s why I do it,” said DeMaio. “I have to be her voice.”

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