Kathy Nee's daughter Chante' Nee will be forever 30.

Her daughter, who was a drug and alcohol counselor, was in recovery. After a back surgery, Chante' Nee became addicted to opioids.

After nine months clean, she relapsed. Nee's dealer is in custody and awaiting trial.

An empty purple chair represented the life of the 30-year-old who died in January of fentanyl poisoning, a drug-induced homicide.

“We want to try to bring awareness to fentanyl poisoning that's going on,” said Kathy Nee of Butler. “Every overdose or drug toxicity death deserves a criminal investigation.”

Nee and Butler resident Donna McKissick are with the Empty Chair Campaign. They were among the groups, including the Butler County Drug and Alcohol Program, who provided recovery information at the Action in Recovery's inaugural Recovery Month Gathering on Saturday at the Butler Farmers Market site, 209 S. Chestnut St.

The Action in Recovery's gathering was the kickoff to raise awareness about alcohol and drug addiction and recovery for September's National Recovery Month.

Additionally, September also brings awareness to the Empty Chair Campaign that runs from Sept. 22 to 29, said McKissick, who works for the Gaiser Addiction Center, about the information she and Nee gave attendees.

McKissick shared that her daughter, Ashley Marie, then 27, died in November from fentanyl poisoning.

On their booth sat 82 rocks decorated with the words son, daughter, husband, aunt, partner and grandson to represent a life lost in Butler County because of a confirmed drug overdose in the last 20 months.

In 2018, there were 46 deaths, according to the Empty Chair Campaign. In 2019, there have been 36 deaths as of August.

McKissick hopes to change the terminology from overdose to poisoning to remove the stigma, she said.

Nee said Action in Recovery's gathering is a benefit for the community.

The group founded in 2017 aims to integrate people back into society through good deeds and events that will help benefit the community, said the founder Jason Beckwith, a Butler resident and certified recovery specialist.

“It makes people in recovery feel better about themselves. My line is bringing unity back to the community,” Beckwith said. “For us, it's trying to remove the stigma to enable people to get help. Sometimes that hinders people's ability to get help.”

What began as a group of 30 people has grown to over 200 people, he said. People who are interested in joining Action in Recovery can visit the group's Facebook page.

The event will create a butterfly effect for people to pass the information they learn back to their community, he said.

The event also raised awareness about an issue close to home.

Butler resident Laurie Cannizzaro's brother, who was 57, died of an overdose two years ago.

Although time has passed, she said she still feels bitter about the circumstances of his death.

The Action in Recovery's gathering would help others in the community in similar situations and raise awareness about alcohol and drug addiction and recovery, she said.

“Things like this are great,” Cannizzaro said. “The information is a plus that they're giving. It's a good thing.”