The Billerica Memorial Peace Garden will serve as a place of remembrance, peace, and celebration for all the members of our community.The BMPG is dedicated to those who have lost their lives to addiction.
This page is to keep the community updated on our project to create a Community Peace Garden in honor of my son Jesse Rowland, and dedicated to all of those who have battled the terrible disea
se of addiction
I lost my son on September 4, 2017, 3 days before his 28th birthday. Specifically, Fentanyl. Jesse was a highly intelligent person. He was a profound thinker, a gifted musician, artist and writer. He was a graduate of Amherst College (that’s not UMass, it is Amherst College). He had a degree in Philosophy. He had taken his LSATs and was preparing to attend Yale to study law. But addiction can affect anyone. Jesse became addicted his 3rd year of College when he broke his leg and was prescribed pain killers. We all, as a family, battled this horrific disease for 5 years. But it took his life. I am here today to ask for consideration in dedicating a small piece of the Cabot Land to those who lost their life to addiction. I am going to create a public “Peace Garden” in my son’s memory. Because that’s what he wanted so badly, to find peace. I already have many people in and outside our community that have come forward wanting to be a part of creating the Peace Garden, offering ideas, funds, volunteering time and services, to bring this vision to life. I think it only appropriate that the Peace Garden be here in Billerica where Jesse is from. It will serve as a place of remembrance, peace and celebration for all members of our community. It will be for family and friends wo have lost loved ones to the opioid epidemic, And for those battling addiction. I envision beautifying a small wooded area. I will have benches, trees, flowers and a water feature, statues representing peace, a memorial in our son’s name and a dedication to all those who have fallen victim to the ongoing opioid crisis in our town of Billerica. It will be a place anyone can spend time, sit, reflect in solitude, play music or read. On behalf of my son, our family and friends, and members of the community, we ask that you see the value and importance of creating this Peace Garden in our town. It is important to emphasize the importance and necessity for something of this nature to be built in Billerica. Addiction has effected or impacted everyone in this town one way or another, and can truly be an isolating experience for everyone involved. This Peace Garden will help build a sense of community, and act as an epicenter for healing from this epidemic. The Peace Garden will become a place where people in our community can connect, and feel supported. Connection and support are vital for our community to heal. We deserve a safe and beautiful place to remember those we have lost and a place to radiate the idea of peace in our community.
