In collaboration with Gabi Deaton, founder of The Black Balloon Project, Inc., Life Learning Center will host The Black Balloon Project Art Exhibit on Saturday, March 2nd.
This event will be held from noon-3 p.m. with speaking remarks by photographer Gabi Deaton at 1:30 p.m. Following Gabi’s comments there will be remarks by Tami Bobblitt, who lost her son Chase to a fentanyl overdose in 2021, and a remembrance slideshow to honor those lost to overdose.
The Black Balloon Project is a photo collection created to shed a harsh light on the devastating impact that the overdose epidemic has had on our community. The project is used to bring awareness to the grief that overdose deaths leave behind as well as working to end the stigma towards individuals with substance use disorder. Each photo in the gallery is accompanied by a description of the person who has passed away to show who the person was outside of their substance use disorder.
Gabi Deaton, creator of the Black Balloon Project (Photo provided)
Gabi Deaton is not only the photographer behind The Black Balloon Project, but she is also a woman in recovery for over 13 years. Stumbling into addiction at the age of 13, Gabi spent the next 7 years of her life in a downward spiral overdosing twice in downtown Cincinnati and revived by Narcan both times. In January of 2011, after being addicted to intravenous heroin for 4 years, she was court- ordered to treatment at The Brighton Recovery Center for women – it was there that she began her journey into recovery.
Deaton recently transformed the Black Balloon Project into its own non-profit, focusing on giving back to the recovery community and their families. The Black Balloon Project non-profit raises funds for emergency burial relief, to assist family members who suddenly and tragically lose a family member to overdose. The non-profit also focuses on removing barriers for individuals living in recovery housing, by supplying them with household items and move-out kits when they transition into their own homes.
“The Black Balloon Project sheds a harsh light on the reality of addiction within our community,” said Gabi Deaton. “Each person in these photos – they matter, their lives matter and their stories need to be told.”
Acting as both photographer and founder of The Black Balloon Project Inc., Gabi Deaton will attend the event along with partner agencies Target 4 who will be offering free HIV and HEP C Testing; Casey’s Law; The Northern Kentucky Health Department will be on site offering free overdose education and Narcan, as well as other local recovery related services.
Each person who attends the event will be given a free ticket to participate in a free giveaway. Recovery Apparel will be sold to help raise funds for the Black Balloon Project, Inc.
Life Learning Center, the host site for the Black Balloon Project Art Exhibit, delivers an innovative 12-week intensive evidence-based program focused on addressing barriers in five domains of life: physical, financial, spiritual, relational, and emotional. Coupled with a care continuum supported by nearly 150 residential and community partners, this holistic integrated continuum of education and care facilitates transformational change, long-term employment, and dignity for the “at-risk” citizens of Northern Kentucky.
In addition, Life Learning Center serves as a focal point of resources for community-based recovery support, including peer support, a diverse array of recovery support groups, employment supports, and life skills training necessary for employment retention. Given the at-risk population served by Life Learning Center, the organization is all too familiar with substance use disorder, overdoses, and the consequences for families.
The Black Balloon Project Art Exhibit is especially relevant to Life Learning Center; in 2022, 81% of Life Learning Center Candidates (clients) reported a history of substance use. Utilizing grant dollars from the Kentucky Opioid Response Effort (KORE), Life Learning Center provides Candidates and Members (those who have graduated the program) access to a full continuum of clinical and non-clinical services in one physical location. As one of only fifteen Recovery Community Centers (RCC) in Kentucky, Life Learning Center offers a minimum of seven diversified recovery support meetings weekly and collaborates with multiple community partners that offer substance use disorder treatment. In the fall of 2023, St. Elizabeth Journey Recovery Center (JRC) opened on-site facilities at LLC, offering a menu of substance use treatment programs on-site. This innovative collaboration creates a bi-lateral pipeline for individuals suffering substance use disorder, coupled oftentimes with criminal convictions and untreated mental/physical health issues. Additionally, individuals will have full access to existing in-house partners and will have the opportunity to enroll in Life Learning Center’s Foundations for a Better Life Curriculum. Life Learning Center seeks to reconnect families who might have suffered the effects of substance use disorder, serving as a host site for Family Reunification meetings for Candidates required to participate in supervised visitation.
