Families turn fentanyl grief into awareness with new Roanoke billboards

ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) - For families who’ve lost a loved one to fentanyl, the pain never goes away. Now, that pain is being turned into purpose.

Two new billboards along Orange Avenue Northeast in Roanoke are honoring lives lost and raising awareness about the fentanyl crisis.

Nineteen Virginia families are sharing photos of their loved ones on billboards at 609 and 723 Orange Avenue. The memorials will remain in place through the month of October as a public reminder of the people behind the numbers.

The billboards are presented by Rachel’s Angels, an Ohio-based nonprofit, with help from V.a.Moms in Virginia. The visual presence of loved ones lost to illicit fentanyl transforms statistics into human stories, while the physical presence of families at the site sends a powerful message for