SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – A Central New York foundation is aiming to collect 10,000 pairs of shoes to help end the stigma surrounding opioid addiction and support research that could one day save lives.
Joey’s Wish, founded by Ann and Jason Morrell in 2022, is hosting its annual shoe drive through June 16, with more than 20 drop-off locations across the region. The couple launched the foundation just two months after losing their 24-year-old son, Joey, to an accidental fentanyl overdose.
“Just two months after he passed, we were up and rolling,” Ann Morrell said. “Just anything we can do to help raise money.”
Their fundraising efforts have included bingo nights, T-shirt sales, Syracuse Mets and Crunch benefit nights, and even selling candy outside Walmart.
The Morrells say they’ve had to fight stigma throughout the past three years.
“We’ve had people come up at the baseball games and ask, ‘Oh, what’s this for?’ They want to join our raffles or donate,” Ann said. “People see Joey’s name and assume it’s for cancer—they’ll give to cancer all day. But when you explain it’s for addiction, some people walk away. And that’s kind of hurtful.”
“There’s all kinds of red tape they have to cut through to get the programs and studies even up and running,” Jason added.
Ann says stigma also makes it harder to get the community involved, even though she knows their story is not unique.
“I think people often look at those who use drugs as scumbags, like they’re worthless and chose this, so it’s their own fault. I don’t believe that,” she said. “In Joey’s case, when he was 13, he was at a friend’s house down the road. They got into the kid’s mom’s medicine cabinet and took an oxy… just curiosity and temptation.”
Jason Morrell, a sheriff’s custody officer, has seen firsthand how the opioid epidemic traps people in cycles of addiction.
“When I first started, it was 16-, 17-, 18-year-olds. And those same kids are the ones who keep coming back, doing the same things,” he said. “The majority of it is drug-related. I mean, food, shelter, clothing… drugs still come first.”
The current shoe drive is in partnership with Funds2Orgs, a national organization that recycles donated shoes and contributes proceeds back to nonprofits. Volunteers tie and bag the shoes by hand, and they’ll be picked up in October.
So far, about 2,500 pairs have been collected. The goal is 10,000.
“We wish we did it when he was alive so he could have helped us, but we feel like he’s helping us now,” Ann said. “We’re doing what we can for other families so they don’t have to feel what we feel… the loss of our son.”
To find a drop-off location or get involved, visit Joey’s Wish online.