Loved ones placed rocks, painted purple and with the names of lives lost, beneath a memorial tree in Babylon Town Park.
Carole Trotter founded the Purple Rock Project after her son, Alex, died in 2018.
"I just hope it stops the stigma and makes people aware that we've lost an entire generation of young, beautiful people that had so much hope and promise," Trotter said.
While fatal overdoses have dropped in New York state and here on Long Island, mostly due to Narcan, there's really no silver bullet to fix the drug problem.
Those who've lived through it say the battle needs to be fought on several fronts.
"The mental health gets shoved under the rug so much, eventually you're gonna trip over it, and that's what happens. My son was under the wire for anything kind of concerning," Lori Carbonaro said.
Advocates say more needs to be done in terms of education and intervention, as well as curbing the drug supply.
"I think there have to be critical conversations that occur, and as scary as it sounds, as young as elementary school level," Babylon Town Supervisor Rich Schaffer said.
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