Black Poster Project Returns to Maine

Spurwink is bringing the Black Poster Project (BPP) back to the greater Lewiston–Auburn area, expanding it into a moving two-day experience that invites the community to bear witness, reflect, and heal. The BPP is a nationally recognized addiction and overdose awareness initiative centered on a silent memorial of more than 900 posters, each one honoring a life lost to substance use. Walking through the exhibit is deeply human and profoundly personal, visitors encounter faces, names, and stories that reflect every age, background, and walk of life: beloved sons and daughters, siblings, parents, coworkers, and friends. Founded by Dee Gillen after the loss of her son to overdose, the Black Poster Project is not meant to sensationalize tragedy or leave people in despair. Instead, it gently but powerfully challenges stigma, builds understanding, and creates space for honest conversations about addiction, warning signs, and where help can be found. When Spurwink brought the Black Poster Project to Maine for the first time last year, many community members attended, responding with overwhelming gratitude, reflection, and connection. Although only a handful of posters initially represented Mainers, families soon came forward asking to share their loved ones’ stories—an outpouring that underscores how deeply substance use has touched our state. This year, the exhibit is expected to include 30–40 Maine posters, making the experience even more local and resonant. Building on this momentum, Spurwink plans to expand the project into a two-day program: one day devoted to Maine students engaged through Students Empowered to End Dependency (SEED), with counselors and facilitators present to support reflection and emotional care, and a second day open to the wider public. On both days, attendees will have access to on-site supportive counseling, educational presentations from mental health professionals, law enforcement, and community leaders, and meaningful opportunities for dialogue and healing. In a nation, and our Maine communities, profoundly impacted by substance use, the Black Poster Project honors lives lost while strengthening compassion, resilience, and hope for recovery. Join Catherine Ryder, Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives, Spurwink, and David Peckham, Founder and Executive Director of Students Empowered to End Dependency, on Friday, June 5, 2026, from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM to learn more about this powerful addiction and overdose awareness initiative. Gordon Smith, Maine's Opioid Response Director will moderate. This will be the final installment of our monthly webinar series before we convene Governor Mills' 8th Annual Opioid Response Summit on July 16 in Bangor. Governor Mills Opioid Response Monthly Seminar series will return Friday, September 11, 2026.