May 9, 2000
The Domestic Consequences of Heroin Use
Mrs. Marie Allen
Mother of Addictive
Children
My daughter Erin fought two addictions, the first was alcohol and started in her early teens, many rehabs and hospitals later, Erin had gotten control of her life. Her second addiction was to heroin. This one however had total control of her life until the day she died.
One night while attending an AA meeting Erin was offered heroin, for whatever reason, Erin tried it. She snorted in that time and she told me later she was addicted from that day on. It wasn't long before Erin was injecting heroin.
She continued to use heroin for two years. She went to Philly into Kensington several times a day, every day. She went into places you and I would never go. At the worst point of her addiction, Erin was spending $250 a day. She did whatever she had to, to get that money. She sold everything she owned, she sold other peoples things, she stole from her family and friends.
She was turning into someone I didn't recognize, her arms were bruised from needles, her weight dropped to 98 lbs., she had a heart attack and was having trouble breathing. That's when Erin started going to the methadone clinic. She went there for five months, but she still felt the need to use heroin. She detoxed off the methadone and got into a treatment center. After only two days, her cravings were so strong, she left the rehab, came to my place of business and stole my car. She went straight to Kensington. While she was there she had the car stolen from her, she was beaten, raped and left in the street. Someone found Erin, brought her into their home and let her use the phone. Erin called a friend of ours, Pat, she is a family therapist who had been working with our family. Pat told her she had two choices. Turn herself in for the car theft or continue to live the way she had been living. Erin chose to turn herself in. At her hearing for the felony car theft, we told the judge we would drop the charges if Erin could get some kind of help for her heroin addiction. The judge agreed and sentenced Erin to a rehab called the Crest, its part of our prison system. No beds were available so Erin had to wait five months in the women's prison where she received no drug counseling. A bed became available at the Crest and Erin was accepted. After four months, she got out on work release. She got a job at a coffee shop. After work she would return to the Crest.
She called me one night to ask if I would take her to work the next day. She needed to get some blood work done. I picked Erin up early in the morning and she got her blood work done. When she came out of the office, she was crying, shaking, doubled over with stomach pains, she said when the nurse put the needle in her arm, it triggered something, it made her think about using heroin, it brought back all the feelings and cravings. When we got to her work, Erin brought me into a little Chapel that was next door. She told me she went there every morning to pray. Erin seemed to have calmed down and we both had to get to work. Erin walked me to my car, gave me a hug and a kiss and said " I love you mom," I said "I love you too." I watched as she went into work.
Later that night I got a call from the Crest, Erin didn't return from work. I got worried and called my friend Pat, I had a bad feeling that Erin might have gone to Kensington. I asked Pat if she would look for her. Pat went out a couple nights and the last night spotted Erin, but Erin got into a car with someone and took off. Pat couldn't catch up to them. The next day I was at work when I got a call from the Philadelphia Coroners office. They said they had Erin. She was dead from a heroin overdose. When my husband and I got there, they put us in a room, turned on the computer screen and on the screen was Erin's face.
Since April of 1998, I have been working with the New Castle County Police. They have put together an educational program on the effects of heroin. At the end of their presentation I tell Erin's story. We have presented this program close to 800 times, in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. I have met parents who have lost their children to heroin and I have met parents who are dealing with the pain of an addicted child. Insurance companies don't acknowledge this addiction as a disease and do not give adequate time for rehabilitation. Anyone with any knowledge of this addiction knows 7 to 28 days is not enough. People are being turned away from detox because there are no beds available. Education is essential, but we can't forget the thousands of young addicts that can't get the help they need to survive. Heroin addiction is an epidemic in this country and I will continue to tell Erin's story in an effort to raise awareness and hopefully save lives.