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The Leandro De Niro Rodriguez Foundation

@leandrosfoundation

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In memory of Leo.
Expanding access to care for young people & families impacted by the fentanyl crisis.

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Protecting young people and supporting families affected by substance misuse, addiction, and mental health challenges remains at the heart of our mission. Over the past several months, we’ve been laying the groundwork to expand our impact.

We’re working on some exciting projects that bring together two things close to our hearts: giving young people more opportunities to express themselves through art and storytelling, and fighting for stronger protections around how potentially dangerous substances are marketed and sold to them.

We’re also exploring ways to get more funding and support into the hands of grassroots organizations already making a difference for young people and their families.

We know meaningful change takes time, and we’re committed to the work ahead.

To everyone who has donated, shared our story, or supported us along the way, thank you.

We can’t wait to share more with you soon.💙 by @leandrosfoundation

How have we reached a point where children are taking their own lives before they’ve had a chance to live?

Children are dying by suicide at heartbreakingly young ages. In 2024, suicide was the second leading cause of death among children ages 10–14, according to the CDC.

We cannot accept this as normal.

Children are facing pressures far beyond what we can see, from bullying and harmful online content to anxiety, depression, and loneliness. With phones and tablets giving them constant access to the outside world, we cannot assume they’re safe from harm simply because they’re home.

Protecting them is our responsibility. We need:

• Accessible mental health care before a crisis
• Stronger suicide prevention and early intervention programs
• Greater accountability for children’s safety online
• Parents equipped to recognize when their children are struggling

This #WorldMentalHealthDay, we must demand urgent action to protect our children.

Your support helps the Leandro De Niro Rodriguez Foundation invest in grassroots organizations providing mental health care and resources to young people and their families. Click the link in our bio to donate today. by @leandrosfoundation

We are heartbroken to hear of the passing of Presley Gerber at just 27 years old.

Our hearts are with the Gerber family through this unimaginable loss. We hope they are given the privacy and space they need, and feel surrounded by love and support in the days ahead.💙 by @leandrosfoundation

This movie is just one small piece of Kevin and Brooke’s powerful true story which led to the creation of Brooke’s House. Support recovery. Support Brooke’s House, support this film October 16 as 1/3 of the film profits are dedicated to @brookeshousemd by @leandrosfoundation

Happy birthday to the fabulous @drenadeniro✨ Today we’re celebrating the heart and force behind LDR. An amazing mother, daughter, sister, friend, and advocate.

Your love for Leo has grown into a fierce commitment to help other families find hope and healing. We’re so grateful for your energy and wish you a wonderful birthday surrounded by all the joy you bring to others.

- The LDR team🤍 by @leandrosfoundation

Our founder, @drenadeniro, never expected to become an advocate in the fight against fentanyl.

After losing Leo to an accidental fentanyl overdose in 2023, she found herself surrounded by a community of parents and families brought together by the same unimaginable loss.

Drena shared her story in Times Square with a message for all parents: our children deserve better awareness, better care, and better paths to recovery.

In honor of #InternationalOverdoseAwarenessDay, here are Drena’s full remarks. by @leandrosfoundation

The power of the parent is using your voice to protect your child and help protect someone else’s, too.

At last week’s National Fentanyl Prevention & Awareness Day, that message echoed through Times Square. Families, advocates, law enforcement, and leaders in medicine came together to raise awareness, tell their stories, and talk about how to prevent more lives from being lost to the opioid crisis.

Here are a few moments from the day and clips from the speakers who took the stage: Antoinette Hornsby, @fentanylvoice, @aes1229, Heather Holland, @mikefiore118, @brookeshousemd, and many others.

You can help the Leandro De Niro Rodriguez Foundation support grassroots organizations focused on treatment, recovery, rehabilitation, prevention, mental health resources, and helping families navigate unimaginable loss. Click the link in our bio to donate today🤍 by @leandrosfoundation

This National Fentanyl Awareness and Prevention Day, we stood in Times Square to honor the lives lost to the opioid epidemic and push for a safe, fentanyl-free future.

The loss of our loved ones is what brought us here. It’s also why we show up every year with even more fight.

Thank you to @fentanylvoice, @deahq, @deanewyorkdiv, and every family, volunteer, sponsor, and speaker who traveled from across the country to stand with us. In the coming days, we’ll be sharing some powerful messages from these incredible speakers.

And thank you to @theblackposterproject, who put together a beautiful silent memorial at @stpatrickscathedral.

We’re grateful for the people we met, the touching stories they shared, and the work we get to do together moving forward.

You can help the Leandro De Niro Rodriguez Foundation support grassroots organizations focused on treatment, recovery, rehabilitation, prevention, and helping families navigate unimaginable loss. Click the link in our bio to donate today🤍 by @leandrosfoundation

Happy birthday, Leo💙

You brought an incredible light into this world that continues to shine. Your creativity, your love, your humor, your warmth will forever live on.

We hope your life and your legacy inspire people to love the ones around them the way you did, to make people feel like home just by being near them. We hope it inspires people to create without fear and to show up as exactly who they are.

And we hope it inspires people to turn that same love inward, to take care of their mental health and wellbeing.

We love you, Leo and we always will.

You can give in Leo’s honor and help the foundation make meaningful grants to grassroots organizations supporting young people and families affected by substance use disorder. Click the link in our bio to make a donation. by @leandrosfoundation

Saturday morning, @carlosmare on behalf of the Leandro De Niro Rodriguez Foundation, crossed the Brooklyn Bridge alongside families, advocates, and neighbors to demand a fentanyl-free future. More than 100 communities around the country walked that same day.

We walked for Leo. We walked for every life lost to fentanyl and other harmful drugs. And we walked for everyone who couldn’t be there in person, but continues to fight to get illicit substances off our streets.

Thank you @unitedagainstfentanyl, @walkforlives, @deanewyorkdiv, and @phoenixhousesny for mobilizing thousands of people and making this crisis a nationwide movement.

Thank you @carlosmare for showing up on behalf of the Leandro De Niro Rodriguez Foundation.

Grief brought us here, but the love for our kids keeps us walking🤍 by @leandrosfoundation

The most important conversations you’ll ever have with your child rarely require a big moment. They’re built in the small ones.

Here are a few ways to create more of them:

Take a drive with no destination. Cook something together. Go to a concert, a game, a museum. Put your phone down first and see what happens. Ask about their world, their music, their friends, what they’re watching.

Show up to the things that matter to them and you’ll be the person they come to🤍 by @leandrosfoundation

Thank you to @tribeca for welcoming the Leandro De Niro Rodriguez Foundation as part of the Tribeca Film Festival’s 25th Anniversary. 💙

On Sunday, Drena De Niro and Robert De Niro formally introduced our foundation during the screening of Clean Hands, directed by Jake Allyn and starring Zach Braff, Esther McGregor, and Abigail Spencer.

Based on a true story, Clean Hands follows a family navigating the devastating realities of substance use disorder while holding onto hope, resilience, and the power of human connection.

The afternoon was a meaningful reminder that stories have the power to educate, heal, and inspire action. Congratulations to Jake Allyn, Zach Braff, Brooke’s House, and the Simmers family on the release of Clean Hands.

A special thank you to Jane Rosenthal, Nancy Lefkowitz, the entire Tribeca Festival team, and the many friends and supporters who showed up for us. We are deeply grateful.

To learn more about the Leandro De Niro Rodriguez Foundation or to support our work, please visit the link in our bio. by @leandrosfoundation