Joey’s Story

Joseph "Joey" Donald Hess II

Joey was born on August 7, 1997 at Auburn Memorial Hospital in Auburn, NY and is one of our four children. He was an avid outdoorsman who loved to hunt and fish. He also loved golfing and spent most of his childhood collecting an obscene amount of golf balls that he would find at our local golf club. He was a vibrant young man whose smile and bright blue eyes could light up a room. Those eyes often helped him get out of trouble growing up, especially, while in school. At a young age Joey was diagnosed with ADHD. The difficulties and hardships in his life increased as he got older. He began to experiment with drugs to numb his pain and trauma. While none of us in his family agreed with the path he chose, we continuously offered love, support, and opportunities for him to get well through medication, therapy, rehabilitation, and a drug free home. In the end, these were only band-aid solutions and his life unexpectedly came to an end. Joey died of an accidental overdose on May 1, 2022 at the age of 24. Joey was one of the most kind, loving, encouraging, and thoughtful humans that has ever walked this earth and we are devastated by the tragic and sudden loss. Our lives and hearts will never be the same. It has become our mission to make a difference in the world through addiction research so that this global crisis can come to an end.