GOSHEN — Organizers of a memorial to remember those who have died from COVID-19 know that Sept. 10 will be a difficult day. They also know how important it will be for loved ones who have had to grieve in isolation.
“We need to come together to recognize this collective loss,” said Jennifer Ritz Sullivan, who has organized the Massachusetts COVID Memorial event to take place at Three Sisters Sanctuary on Saturday, Sept. 10.
The event is meant to provide a way to memorialize all of the 21,390 people lost to COVID-19 in the state and the loved ones of Massachusetts residents who died from the disease anywhere.
“I’ve had zero funding to do this,” Ritz Sullivan, whose mother, Earla Dawn Dimitriadis, died early in the pandemic, said about the memorial. “This is a labor of love.”
Ritz Sullivan is the COVID justice leader in Massachusetts for Marked by COVID, an organization founded in the pandemic to advocate for the concerns of and provide support to those affected by the disease.
The memorial was originally scheduled to take place in 2021, but was postponed because of safety concerns.
Three Sisters Sanctuary is hosting the event at no charge. Its owner, Richard Richardson, lost his mother last year to COVID-19, although he had offered the space for the memorial at no charge before that happened.
“He saw the necessity for the event before becoming a member of our community,” Ritz Sullivan said.
The event will take place from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., and Ritz Sullivan said that the ceremony itself will take about 45 minutes. In the ceremony, Ritz Sullivan will make an introduction, after which Rep. Mindy Domb, D-Amherst, Rep. Natalie Blais, D-Sunderland, and radio host Christopher “Monte” Belmonte will read small obituaries for those who have died.
“It’s going to be a difficult day,” said Blais, who added that it’s “critically important” to create space to honor the lives that were lost.
Belmonte has known Ritz Sullivan for several years, first meeting her when she was a participant in the Cancer Connection Camp Out. She has also been on his radio show speaking about grief and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ritz Sullivan has been writing the obituaries that will be read using information loved ones have contributed, sometimes supplementing this with information from the deceased’s printed obituaries. As of Thursday morning, 45 people have submitted names to be recognized.
“The loss of a loved one to COVID is deeply isolating,” Ritz Sullivan said. “I want people to find community however they need to.”
After the reading, Richardson will talk about the Three Sisters Sanctuary.
“Our community needs this,” Richardson said, of the memorial. “This is a place that offers healing for everyone who visits it.”
Richardson said he hopes exposure to the space helps attendees to heal. He began work on what would become the sanctuary, now a showcase of art and landscaping, in 1994 to cope with the impending death of his brother, Chuck. It was named for his three daughters after the death of his daughter, Tina Marie Richardson, in 2004.
The space at 188 Cape St. (Route 112) is free to use for those wishing to hold memorials, although donations are accepted.
Attendees will be able to leave trinkets for their loved ones at The Dragon’s Den, a big sculptural dragon piece that breathes actual fire. There will also be a grief wall with paper that attendees can write on. They can then take the notes with them, leave them on the wall or burn them in the dragon.
Ritz Sullivan said those who have lost loved ones to the disease have not had a space to share their grief without being shamed or judged outside of the COVID-19 bereaved community.
“There’s been a lot of suppression of grief,” Ritz Sullivan said.
She added that there is no wrong way to come to the memorial and grieve, whether it is with sadness or a beautiful thought.
“Anger is welcome as well,” she said. “However you feel is valid.”
Attendees will be asked to mask “for the safety of everyone” at the outdoor event, with Ritz Sullivan noting that the pandemic is still ongoing and deadly.
“We lost 57 people last week in Massachusetts,” she said.
In addition to Domb and Blais, Sen. Adam Hinds, D-Pittsfield, Rep. Paul Mark, D-Becket, and Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa will also be in attendance.
Sabadosa said it’s important to take a moment to remember those who have died due as a result of the pandemic, and to learn from the mistakes that were made.
“What does our public health response look like next time?” she said.
Ritz Sullivan said she expects roughly 60 people at the event, although the venue can accommodate a lot more.
Those who wish to submit the names of their loved ones for obituaries that will be read at the ceremony can email Ritz Sullivan at markedbycovidma@gmail.com. The deadline for doing so is Thursday, Sept. 1. The Facebook event page can be found at bit.ly/3B69suJ.
“We are fighting for recognition every day,” Ritz Sullivan said. “Memorialization is radical work around COVID.”
Bera Dunau can be reached at bdunau@gazettenet.com.