MANCHESTER, Conn. — Just off Broad Street in Manchester, a transformed back lot at the Root Center for Advanced Recovery is helping to transform lives.

What was once a dirt pile is now a memorial garden, and, for the past three years, the Root Center staff has held a remembrance ceremony in the garden.

“Substance abuse disorder doesn’t discriminate," said Margaux Farrell, the chief of staff at the Root Center. "Today is about honoring those lives lost and about recognizing those who are still very much in the fight.”

Farrell noted that there was a 26% decrease in overdose deaths in 2024.

“That’s a trend in the right direction, but it’s still almost 930 families that lost loved ones,” Farrell said, and then added, “and those deaths are 100% preventable.”

The ceremony showcased the de

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