The "Empty Chair" movement, started by families who lost loved ones to fentanyl poisoning, places a single, empty wooden chair at concerts, school gyms, and graduation ceremonies. No speech. No video. Just a chair with a name tag.

“I’ve been in rooms where a director says, ‘We need more tears. Can you cry on camera?’” he says, his voice tight. “They forget that I’m not an actor. That ‘tear’ is a real Tuesday night. When you commodify trauma, you re-wound the survivor.”

It reads: “My name is Maya. Five years ago, I was where you are. I couldn’t feel my legs. I wanted to die. I’m not going to give you advice. I’m just going to tell you what happened next. Reply ‘YES’ if you want to know you’re not alone.”