It can be hard to quantify all the harm heroin can do. Broken trust, illness, criminal acts, even death. Heroin addicts and their loved ones face a difficult path. Meet the real Wisconsin men and women who’ve come to understand the high cost of heroin firsthand.
“What Has Heroin Done to Me?”
"I wake up to hell every day. And I've got to be thankful for it." -Ben
"I didn't care about who I hurt, what I said, how abusive I was." -Mandy
"I was doing more and more every day." -Josh
"I said, 'Craig, I have a really bad feeling you're going to die.'" -Carol
"There she was on the floor." -Danny
"Those were the days when I slept the best, when he was locked up." -Julie
"This is something that hits home and it really hurts families." -John
"The worst part is when you wake up."
"People prostituted themselves. I made that possible for them."
"I couldn't get up to even wipe my own butt."
"You don't care about them, they don't care about you."
"I was in so much emotional pain."
"Never once did it occur to me that this person could seriously hurt me."
"As soon as I got that little bit of trust..."
"I manipulated men for money."
"I blew $7,000 in two months."
"It's actually a boring life"
"I know what will happen. I'll end up right back in prison."
"Lord have mercy."
"I would sleep with my car keys under my pillow."
"You can't imagine how heartbroken, how mad, how sad..."
"They ditched her to die."
"They can’t handle what they had been using."
"This is gonna follow you around, and it makes the climb even steeper."
"The first thing addicts become are liars."
"I know he’s safe there; I know he’s not going to end up dead."
"I used to think prison was the worst… but the next problem is an overdose."
"You still have that hope every day that somehow he’s going to get better."
"It just takes hold of these young people."