Old Bridge, NJ — The halls of Hackensack Meridian Old Bridge Medical Center were once again filled with powerful emotion and reflection as The Black Poster Project returned with its traveling memorial exhibition, honoring lives lost to addiction and overdose. What began as a grassroots movement has now become a profound community tradition — one that blends remembrance, awareness, and hope.
About the Black Poster Project
The Black Poster Project is a New Jersey-based addiction and overdose awareness group that travels throughout New Jersey and New York with hundreds of posters, each featuring a “beautiful soul” lost to addiction. The presentation, called Silent Memorials, is a powerful and deeply moving display where visitors walk through at their own pace, reading the personal stories behind every face.
Created by families affected by addiction, the project seeks to humanize the epidemic, raise awareness, and break the stigma surrounding substance use disorder. Partnering with Alumni in Recovery, the group aims to not only remember those who have passed, but also highlight the courage of those living in recovery today.
Visitors are encouraged to look closely, to see the faces, read the stories, and recognize that addiction can touch anyone: athletes, musicians, parents, children, friends. As the organizers emphasize, “Perhaps there may be a familiar face… Families ask themselves the same questions we do, how could this happen?”
Though the exhibit currently travels only within New Jersey and New York due to its large scale, the stories represented span all across the United States.
A Powerful Partnership
Patricia Carroll, President of Hackensack Meridian Old Bridge Medical Center, praised the project’s impact and reaffirmed the hospital’s commitment to community awareness:
“This project reminds us that behind every statistic is a real person, a real family, and a community forever changed. At Hackensack Meridian Old Bridge, we stand with families and remain dedicated to promoting healing, compassion, and prevention.”
Each year, this collaboration brings together families, advocates, and healthcare professionals united by one mission: to remember, to educate, and to prevent.
Did You Know?
As part of the educational display, The Black Poster Project includes factual and historical context about addiction to encourage learning and dialogue. For example, one featured board shares the origins of the word heroin:
The word “heroin” comes from the German word “heroisch”, meaning heroic, because it was initially believed to give users a sense of strength.
In 1892, Bayer chemist Heinrich Dreser launched a painkilling product called Diacetylmorphine (heroin), marketed as a “wonder drug” to help morphine addicts get clean and as a cough suppressant.
By 1913, reports of addiction had grown so severe that Bayer withdrew heroin from the market and it was soon declared illegal.
These educational elements make the exhibit not just a memorial, but also a platform for public awareness, understanding, and prevention.
Upcoming Event – Ocean University Medical Center
The Black Poster Project will next be featured at Hackensack Meridian Ocean University Medical Center in Brick, New Jersey, on November 21, 2025, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Conference Rooms (425 Jack Martin Blvd).
This event will include guest speakers and community resources for individuals and families affected by addiction. It is open to both HMH team members and the community, offering an opportunity for remembrance, learning, and healing.
For more information, please contact:
Janice McCormack, Manager, Office of Patient Experience
[email protected] | 732-836-4297
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