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On a recent Thursday afternoon, Anna Sardella drove to Saints Peter & Paul Cemetery in Springfield, Pennsylvania.
Her son, Joseph “Joey” Sardella, is buried there. He grew up with his family in nearby Havertown as the eldest of three children. The eldest brother died of a drug overdose on August 31, 2019 at the age of 24 after battling substance use disorder for five years. He was left behind by a family that still cherishes and values him.
“He was definitely a bit of a mama’s boy, very loving,” Ann said. “He grew up to be an absolutely brilliant athlete, he played everything. And he loved music. He had such an ear for finding beautiful music.”
That day – August 31 – is also International Drug and Drug Addiction Awareness Day. The Sardellas hold an annual memorial march to the cemetery for the whole community on that day and will repeat it later this month. The march is designed to give families like the Sardellas the opportunity to share stories about the friends and family members they have lost to drug addiction.
Ann said Joey’s greatest love, besides his family, is Philadelphia sports teams like the 76ers and Eagles.
“When the Eagles won the Super Bowl, he went out with his friends and called me crying and said, ‘I’m so happy to call you. You’re my first call. I can’t believe I saw the Eagles win the Super Bowl,'” Ann said. “He loved them so much, he cried.”
These are the memories Ann and her family have kept since Joey’s death.
This year, the march is being held in partnership with the Shevlin Family Foundation, whose founders, Peggie and Paul Shevlin, have three children recovering from addiction.
Ann believes the annual event has helped her family overcome the impact of her son’s death.
“So our family has kind of turned it around,” Ann said. “We have wonderful memories of Joey and it’s very easy for us to celebrate him together. And having the whole community together to celebrate a loved one makes it that much more beautiful. We feel supported by them and we hope they feel supported by us.”
Similar commemorations are planned throughout Philadelphia, the suburbs, Delaware and South Jersey in the days leading up to and on August 31 to commemorate the day and raise awareness of the impact of the addiction epidemic.
The number of people who died from drug overdoses in the United States fell in 2023 for the first time in five years, yet overdoses claimed 107,543 lives across the country, including thousands of people in the Delaware Valley.
Ann said the day’s events can help bring people suffering greatly from addiction and the opioid epidemic closer together.
“When you come here, you will feel like you can say to your loved one, ‘I will always support your life and your memory and I will honor you,'” she said.
