Honorable Governor Hassan and Honorable Senator Ayotte:
It is with great sadness I write this letter to you. The hearts of those within my family, our close friends, and our New Hampshire community are broken. Just over a week ago, our family lost a son, brother, grandson, nephew, cousin – and someone who was friends to many.
His name is Timothy Richard Beard and we did not lose him to a car accident. We did not lose him to an illness. We did not lose him to combat. We lost him to heroin – an epidemic our State has faced for nearly two years now; yet nothing is being done.
From here forward, we will never have another holiday where our family is complete.
There will be one less kid swinging the bat at the piñata during Easter. At Thanksgiving, when our very blended, close, loving family gathers there will be an empty seat where Tim once sat. An unfilled stocking at Christmas, between Kristen and Christian’s, where Tim’s once hung will remind us of the void we feel each day.
Come his 25th birthday, on May 10th, we will visit his gravesite where he is buried instead of hugging him in our arms and wishing him another wonderful year.
Maybe these things don’t matter to you, nor anyone else, but they do to us.
Our State government, those whom are supposed to have the best interest of the people in mind, have not taken this dangerous war against drugs head on. Instead, you hide in the shadows, behind your pretty desks and tell us you’re ‘doing something about it.’ How can you be doing something about it when there were six deaths in Manchester alone last week and numbers have doubled since the year prior? A number not including those fortunate enough to be saved.
My brother was one of the six lives lost last week. He was a young man who loved his family and his friends dearly. He was a young man whom, had you been fortunate enough to know him, would have baffled your mind with his countless facts, his love of nature, and his love of music and musical talent.
Tim was a son. He was a brother. A grandson. A nephew. A cousin. A friend. He was all of these things and so very much more. Our family loved, and still loves him dearly.
The system of support within our State is broken. The day of Tim’s funeral, the counselor finally called him back. This was more than two weeks after he reached out asking for help. How can you honestly tell us, the families of those whom have lost their loved ones to this horrible drug, things are changing? They’re not.
They’re getting worse, every day.
What you may not realize is this – the impact of this epidemic is not limited to those who are addicted and battling for their lives. It’s not just the 259 that died prior to December of 2015 who felt the effects. Imagine if each of those people only knew 15 people – that is still more than 3,885 lives affected. However, I guarantee that the actual number is much higher than you care to imagine. It’s growing every day.
My brother had more than 500-people show up to his wake. If all those whom died from heroin and opioids had that, that’s more than 129,500 people affected. Is this not enough for you to make a change in our beloved State? Because it is for us.
Thank you for the time you took to read this today. I hope you choose to make a difference.
All my best,
Courtney A. Selig
Manchester Ink Link welcomes letters to the editors on timely topics. Submit letters to robidouxnews@gmail.com, subject line “Letter to the Editor.”
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