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'Some kids turn out to be scum'

There are many journalists ready to tell you what they think and what you should think. But journalism in its purest form should be a vehicle for informing the public in as honest a manner as possible, without spin. That's why this blog is going to let the families of heroin users speak in their own words.

The following quotes are taken from the report 'The Experiences of Families Seeking Support in Coping with Heroin Use,' compiled by the National Advisory Committee on Drugs. While there are optimistic quotes in the report, the following show the suffering of the families, mostly parents.

"He took off his jumper and he started crying and I will never forget the sight I seen in all my life. It was such a shock. I thought I was going to die when I seen his arms. I thought I'd have a heart attack. Me and his father just looked at each other."

"I remember once buying him a leather jacket. I couldn't afford it, but it was Christmas and I wanted to show him we still loved him. I bought him the leather jacket. It was gone in two weeks."

"She told me that if she did not have drugs she would die. I believed her. I got into the car and I drove to Dublin every night and bought drugs on the open market until I copped on. It was wearing me down and it took me a long time to cop on."

"I used to go out of me bed during the night, when me husband would be asleep, and go out and look for her in my nightie with me coat over it."

"We went to the priest thinking he would steer us in the right direction. What he was telling us was rubbish. It was no help whatsoever. We went to our doctor. He hadn't a clue, no idea."

"I went to my local doctor, I just wanted to know what to do. He just said to me, some kids turn out to be scum."

"My husband got an appointment for him in the (local hospital) and they said he wasn't bad enough to help."

"I started crying, I was in the bottom of a big black hole. I said what am I going to do now, I thought I'll give him money for heroin and that will keep him going. We went off to Dublin to get the heroin."

"One morning I heard him coming home about 5 and it was black dark. He was knocking to get in. We had decided at this stage that he wasn't getting in. So he was banging and banging and we never answered the door... I can remember looking out the window, seeing him walking up in the black dark and thinking I don't know where he is going, I don't know what kind of trouble he is going to get into, I don't know if he is going to survive the night. It was horrible, horrible."

"I tried to get her a place of her own, because she has a little baby. She was getting aggressive. I said to her you'd be better off in your own place. We'd visit you and make sure you're happy and the baby's happy. But the social workers won't let her move out of the house because of the child. Now they are saying that she can't stay on her own in the house and they want me to give up work. They say they'll take the baby if I don't give up my job. I'm in a state now... My head is wrecked."

Posted in Health service news and views on 17 April 2007
Tags: drugs