GETZVILLE, N.Y. — Many groups work with Kids Escaping Drugs throughout the year to help educate the community about the resources available to help families dealing with addiction.
2 On Your Side spoke with a mother who was inspired to start a foundation after losing her son to addiction six years ago.
Deb Maloney Hicks is the president and treasurer of the Chris Maloney Legacy Foundation which is named for her son, Christopher, who overdosed from a heroin addiction on Father's Day in 2016.
"We really wanted to showcase to the community that this is a rampant problem that can affect anybody no matter what demographic you come from, and that there's a stigma attached to it, and I didn't want my son to be remembered for that stigma," says Deb Maloney Hicks.
The foundation works with groups like Horizon Health Services and Kids Escaping Drugs to raise awareness about addiction.
"Interesting enough, he visited the Renaissance Campus when he was in high school and it was just something that when he was going to St. Joe's, they tried to introduce kids to this kind of environment to show that, you know, you could be a scholar-athlete and have this happen to you, you could be from the inner city and have this happen to you, and there is no division," said Maloney Hicks.
Chris was a golfer, so Maloney Hicks quickly started programs with First Tee of Western New York. The executive director there knew someone from KED and a partnership was formed to get the young people at KED involved with the First Tee program. Maloney Hicks says it helps them harness some of the same values used in recovery like perseverance and integrity.
"We've had a lot of testimonials from the kids, the young adults, about how they didn't realize how peaceful going out and golfing could be, and living inside your own mind, and taking control of your own thoughts, and channeling it into something that's productive and fun," says Maloney Hicks.
Maloney Hicks also frequently visits the KED campus to speak with the young people there and their families about Chris, the foundation, and why she's doing it.
"It was inspiring to see people come out of their shell and come and ask me questions specifically about our journey, and how we got here, and how we survived the unthinkable, things like that. So it's been challenging, it's emotional, and it's a sensitive thing, but it's, in the end, there's more good that comes out of it than bad," says Maloney Hicks.
The foundation also puts on a golf tournament every year. The 5th Anniversary Chris Maloney Legacy Golf Tournament is July 25 in Lockport.