Black Balloon Day at Perry County Behavioral Health

NEW LEXINGTON, Ohio — Perry County Behavioral Health in New Lexington hosts Black Balloon Day, a way to honor those who have lost their battle with addiction.

The event was born out of a family’s loss when Greg Tremblay, a father of four, passed away from an overdose five years ago, at age 38. The keynote speaker at today’s event also lost her son, Joel.

“My son was an addict for approximately eighteen years, and March 3, 2018 he died of an overdose. He overdosed three times in one week, and the third time was his last. He had his bouts of sobriety. He loved the sobriety part, but he just couldn’t hang on after that. At the end, he was on life support for five days and then we donated his organs after that. It’s been a long journey,” says Kelly Kocher, Keynote Speaker.

Kocher has some advice for parents: keep an eye on their sons and daughters who may be at risk of addiction.

“Don’t think you know your kids. You think you do. I’m not saying you don’t, but don’t have that doubt. Me as a parent and knowing what they went through, you watch their free time, you watch, look around for paraphernalia, you keep an eye out and even though you think they’re getting on a road to recovery that they can’t go backwards,” Kocher adds.

In 2019, Perry County saw seven fatal overdoses.