UTICA, Mich. (WXYZ) — On National Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day, a powerful memorial at a Utica intersection is drawing attention and starting difficult conversations about the ongoing fentanyl and overdose crisis — and for some, it is inspiring them to seek help before it is too late.
If you have driven — or perhaps even pedaled — past Utica Trinity Lutheran Church this month, you have likely seen exactly what Jackie Salo wants you to see.
"I was trying to think of a way to bring awareness," Salo said. "A lot of people, if they're not dealing with drug addiction, they don't even really think about it until it happens to their family."
It happened to Salo and her family in 2017. Her son, Zachary Young, was just 22 years old when he died from a fentanyl overdose.
"He passed at home. He was incarcerated for theft, which a lot of them do to support their habit. He was supposed to go from Oakland County to rehab. They never set it up," Salo said.
In 2020, Salo thought of a way to keep his memory alive. That idea quickly grew to include others who lost their lives to addiction and overdose. Now, Young and nearly 800 other names are memorialized on crosses at the intersection of Hall Road and Van Dyke Avenue in Utica.
"Yeah, it's a busy corner. When you're coming to the light and stopping, it can raise the conversation, why are these crosses here?" Anamaria Kretschmann said.
Kretschmann's son shares a double cross with Young. The two were best friends.
Nearby resident Wayne said the display left an impression on him.
"I thought it was an outstanding memorial," Wayne said.
Christian Jones, an associate pastor at Trinity Lutheran in Utica, where the crosses are displayed annually, said the memorial carries a message he hopes reaches anyone who sees it.
"We know that drugs are a big struggle within our community. I as associate pastor, my role is with people who are struggling with drugs," Jones said. "If anyone notices a cross just once, any single name on the street and it changes their lives — how they view alcohol and drugs. If they notice that just once and changes their attitude towards drugs, that would be life-changing," Jones said.
Salo said that life-changing impact is already happening — some people who have seen the display have been inspired to go to rehab.
A vigil is planned for Saturday night to honor the nearly 800 Michiganders memorialized by the crosses.
"You hear great things about all these people on the crosses, we cry together, we hug, its a grieving process that you never get over," Salo said.
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