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In January of 2023 I came home from a trip to find my middle son, Aidan, on our couch. He had overdosed on Fentanyl and passed away. I felt all of the things a parent feels...the sadness, anger, the helplessness, the guilt. It's a long list. I also felt uninformed, that I didn't know all I needed to know to help increase the odds of my son staying alive long enough to find recovery. Like many others this project might be a response to continue to try and fix things I could not fix. So be it. But by doing this, it may help others who find themselves in the same position I once was. Addiction is harsh, it's complex, it's vindictive and cold, it shifts and changes and it's relentless. There's more to this than you might know.

More To This-Intro

Check out our intro video as we hit the road, visiting cities and rural communities to talk about addiction, recovery and loss. Along the way we’ll highlight what’s working, what’s not working, and what’s changed. 
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Day To Day. Week To Week.

The art of addiction, grief, loss, recovery and hope

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    Some Things Must Be Heard

    Some Things Must Be Heard

    Spoken Word | Francis O'Farrell

    Art can be therapeutic. It can capture a feeling, a moment of time and archive that emotion for all time. This is a Spoken Word poem on the loss of my son, intended to be performed in front of an audience but we ran out of time.

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    Bonnaroo

    BONNAROO

    Dedicated To This Must Be The Place | John Kennedy

    "Bonnaroo" is written and performed John Kennedy who lost his brother Matthew to an overdose. John founded Musicians For Overdose Prevention in Asheville, NC focused on Harm Reduction in the musical venue space.

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    Polaroids

    Polaroids

    My Son; Amen | Francis O'Farrell

    His ashes were divided into fifths for family members. Inspired by the artist Hank Willis Thomas, I used my late son's own handwriting on each photo. The polaroids are fleeting, an instant throwaway, the moment gone forever.

From Pain To Purpose

Postcards to Calm the Soul

RV Camper Life

Interviews with Experts

More To This Podcast

Have you heard of Fentanyl test strips or familiar with Rapid or Quick Response Teams. This weekly podcast will cover prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery options to make sure you are informed and up to date.

Comin soon
Tell Your Story

Advocacy & Education

The presence of stigma and lack of awareness of available resources mean it's important that efforts be made to close the knowledge gap and save lives.

Audio Essays

Stories from the Road

Communities across the region are experiencing unique challenges in the fight to end addiction and are implementing unique solutions. We'll take our mics and cameras on the road to distill and share some of the best practices being used to help save lives.

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Self Expression

Art of Addiction

"I never paint dreams or nightmares. I paint my own reality." - Frida Kahlo
If you are struggling with an addiction, in recovery or have been impacted by the disease in some way we would love for you to send us an expression of your lived experience. Send your paintings, videos, poems, music, stories, spoken word, memories, anecdotes, voice memos, etc to hello@fourthwallcincy.org

Sometimes we just need a place to share our thoughts or keep the memories of our loved ones alive. This is not confined to artists but to anyone who wishes to express their reality in their own way.

With your permission, we’ll put them on our new website for all to see, hear, and reflect upon but you retain your ownership. Select submissions will preface a future episode of our upcoming podcast ‘Around The Turn’ and be included in a gallery showing later in the year. Open to youth and adults.

Post: Candle Painting by Aidan O’Farrell (5th grade). Handwriting font by Aidan O’Farrell (Nov. ‘22) shortly before he lost his life to an overdose at age 25.

Interviews

Stories from the Heart

Those early in their substance use disorder, those in recovery, and caregivers share the most compelling stories from their lived experience. Not quite The Soft White Underbelly but this segment comes with a viewer warning. Prepare to be uplifted.

Remember

Those We Have Lost

Every year, thousands of lives are lost to an overdose event. Each year thousands of loved ones experience the pain of that loss and the fear that their son, daughter, sibling, parent or friend will be forgotten. We will start with a simple question. "Tell me about..."

It Takes A Village

The HEALing Communities Study (HCS) was a research study in four states (Ohio, Kentucky, New York, and Massachusetts) with the goal of reducing opioid overdose deaths. Hamilton County (OH) Addiction Response Coalition also published it’s own study, an approach anchored in four fundamental pillars: prevention, treatment, interdiction, and harm reduction. Both studies indicate that success will only be achieved by breaking through traditional silos and working together in collaboration, a coalition, a village with one goal…to save lives.