AUSTIN, Texas — The season of generosity does not just come in the form of presents, but also in the act of being there for each other.
The Christi Center, which offers free grief support, held its 37th annual remembrance service at Mabee Ballroom at St. Edward’s University on Sunday.
There, Annie and Miguel Hernandez honored the memory of Annie’s late son, 33-year-old Joshua Bell, who died in January 2019 from fentanyl poisoning.
“He was in a car accident and he was given opioids, a large amount of them,” Annie Hernandez said. “And it kind of once … he started taking them, I think it clicked a gene that was a part of him and he just went down a bad path. A part of me died when he died and a big part of me wanted to be with him really bad.”
Annie Hernandez channeled her grief by turning to others and finding help from the Christi Center.
“Because there’s such a stigma around overdose, I wanted to be with other people who lost people to overdose because we have a connection that’s different,” Annie Hernandez said.
These relationships are why Susan and Don Cox founded the Christi Center after losing their daughter Christi Lanahan to a drunk driver in 1985.
“Being with other people who’ve had similar losses or understand what a broken heart is all about, that’s where they find healing. And really, in the long haul, where the healing comes from is when you’re able to help other people,” Don Cox said. “Now we’ve helped over 100,000 people.”
That spirit of giving is now being passed to families like the Hernandez’s.
“They all understand what we’re going through,” Annie Hernandez said.
It is proof that no gift can replace that of love.
“All you want to do is just give them a glimmer of hope and to let them know that they’re not going to be alone,” Don said.
For more information on events at the Christi Center, you can visit their website at this link.