I lost my brother, Wilmard Santiago on April 15, 2020 at the height of the pandemic in New York City. Like so many others, we couldn’t be there for them. We couldn’t comfort them, hold their hand and tell them how much we loved them. We couldn’t have funerals for them.

I have added my brother’s name to so many memorials. I felt I needed to do this to keep his memory alive; to let people know he wasn’t just a number. He was a father, a son, a husband, a brother, a friend, and an all-around amazing human being. My family and I felt so lost and empty and felt we were robbed from giving him the honorable farewell he so deserved.

Then Rami’s Heart was created. I immediately added his name. Little did I know that it would become the first, permanent memorial in the US and in New Jersey, so close to home. I got the opportunity to visit and see firsthand the hearts filled with the names of loved ones lost to COVID. It was very emotional and sad to read the names and the notes left by loved ones. But at the same time it felt so peaceful. It gave me comfort that he was being honored and remembered as the wonderful human being that he was. I felt that I wasn’t alone in my pain.

I am so thankful for this permanent memorial and for the co-founders and all who helped and continue to maintain it so peaceful and serene. It was what many of us needed. My brother, Wilmard and my stepson Alberto Locascio are remembered there and I will forever be grateful to have a place to go to remember them and pray for them and all the innocent lives that were lost.

May they all rest in peace.