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Anna Dawson-Pitts, right, with her siblings Zach and Liza, started a campaign to raise money and awareness about drug addiction after she lost her mother, brother and sister.

(Courtesy of Anna Dawson-Pitts)

LAWRENCE - Anna Dawson-Pitts knows all too well the cost of drug addiction. Though she never abused, the 25-year-old has lost three family members to the disease: her mom in 2011, her brother in 2013 and her sister last month.

She started a memorial fund on GiveForward in an effort to raise awareness as much as money. Within 24 hours, her initial $5,000 goal was surpassed. Family, friends and strangers have donated, helping her raise more than $20,000.

"Not that me raising $20,000 is going to save addicts all over the world, but it's a start and it's awareness," she said. "I feel like no one talks about this. Awareness is so important. ... It makes people uncomfortable. It's important that we view it as a disease."

Even so, she said it's not treated like diabetes and other chronic, relapsing diseases.

"It's viewed as a dirty disease," she said.

Because of the stigma attached to drug addiction, Dawson-Pitts said she was wary of posting her story for all to see - fearful that people would think differently of her and her family - but knew that it was something that she had to do.

Anna Dawson-Pitts, right in a 2005 family photo, started a campaign to raise money and awareness about drug addiction after she lost her mother, brother and sister.

Her mom Suzanne suffered from chronic pain. She had to have her foot amputated because of circulation problems and underwent dozens of surgeries. She turned to painkillers to ease the pain, and became addicted. On Nov. 18, 2011, she went to sleep and never woke up. She was 57.

Her brother, Zach, was her best friend and confidante. He struggled with addiction since his early teenage years - from marijuana to prescription pills to heroin. He fell into a never-ending cycle, Dawson-Pitts said. He would hit rock bottom, build himself back up again, and then relapse. In the spring of 2012, he committed himself to Alcoholics Anonymous, making amends and regularly attending meetings. But he relapsed in April 2013 and never fully recovered, dying a month later from an overdose. He was 26.

The death of her sister, Liza, is still fresh. She died Feb. 25 at the age of 31. Liza, like Zach, began experimenting with drugs as a teenager. Two months before their mom died, her health started to deteriorate. She got a blood infection from IV drug use and needed to have heart surgery. She went into kidney failure and had to go on dialysis. For a while, she stayed sober, but eventually relapsed. Earlier this year, she became very ill. On Feb. 24, she was admitted to the hospital and fell into a coma.

Dawson-Pitts said she became overwhelmed with helplessness and frustration as she watched her family struggle through addiction.

"They would get clean, get into a program and the brother and sister I knew and loved growing up, that person would come back," she said. "You'd get your hopes up and then they'd slip up again back to this addict version of themselves that wasn't really them."

But she realized that there wasn't much she could do.

"You can't make someone get help if they don't want to," she said. "You want to shake them or force them in somewhere and you can't because they're adults."

Dawson-Pitts and her dad, Steve, 60, a recovering alcoholic now sober 10 years, hoped to start a foundation but at this time, it's too daunting of a task.

Instead, the money they raise will go to the New Jersey chapter of Young People in Recovery, a grassroots advocacy organization. It aims to improve access to treatment, educational resources, employment opportunities and housing.

Dawson-Pitts said she also hopes to become more involved in advocacy work. So far, she said, she has been rewarded with an outpouring of support and countless people who shared their stories with her.

For more information, visit https://www.giveforward.com/fundraiser/y7y7/the-dawson-pitts-memorial-fund.

Cristina Rojas may be reached at crojas@njtimes.com. Follow her on Twitter @CristinaRojasTT. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.