What started as a single purple rock has grown into a movement across Long Island and is quickly expanding nationwide. Carole Trottere, a grieving mother since 2018, created The Purple Rock Project to support other grieving families in her community by painting purple rocks featuring the names and photos of loved ones lost to the opioid and fentanyl crisis, ensuring their stories and names are never forgotten.
This past December, Carole placed more than 100 rocks at Gabriel’s Giving Tree Memorial Park, part of the Suffolk County Environmental Center. As each name was read aloud and placed beneath the tree, family members were given the opportunity to lean on one another, honor the memories of their loved ones, and help spread awareness about the ongoing opioid and fentanyl epidemic.
This project has now reached almost 30 other states, all with a common loss, and with the hope that, with Carole’s help, their loved one can be included in this honorable project.
Having worked on the project since September, collecting, painting, and decorating nearly all of the rocks on her own, Carole was surrounded by community members and families on the day of the event and even live-streamed the memorial service on Facebook for loved ones who were unable to attend from out of state.
Following the event, Carole has received nearly as many new requests from families as there were rocks placed during the memorial, underscoring the growing reach and impact of The Purple Rock Project.
“If I can give another grieving parent a brief moment of comfort or make them smile, it means something,” Carole told The Messenger.
The fentanyl and opioid epidemic has been one of the most severe public health crises the country has faced in the past 100 years, excluding the COVID-19 pandemic. Through The Purple Rock Project, Carole hopes to provide families with comfort and relief while raising awareness of the seriousness and ongoing impact of the epidemic.
With the growing number of requests from families, Carole hopes to expand the project to other parks across Long Island, find new homes for these meaningful memorial rocks, and continue spreading the Purple Rock effect.
People from other states have also reached out to Carole, sharing their desire to bring The Purple Rock Project to their own communities by creating and placing memorial rocks in their home states.
Through The Purple Rock Project, Carole has transformed her grief into purpose, becoming a source of comfort and light for families navigating the deep void left by the loss of a loved one. Families interested in learning more, requesting a memorial rock, volunteering, or bringing the project to their own community can find The Purple Rock Project on Facebook, where updates, events, and contact information are regularly shared. As the project continues to grow, Carole hopes its message of remembrance and hope will reach even more families, ensuring that no name and no life is ever forgotten.
