When Melanie was fourteen, an older boyfriend introduced her to crack cocaine, and she became addicted immediately. By fifteen, she was in rehabilitation.

Chelan had been a loving wife and mother, but the dissolution of her marriage plunged her into an addiction to prescription opioids. Now, after three years, she lives on the streets, supports herself through prostitution, and has lost all c…

As Courtney entered her teenage years, her fluctuating moods hardened into outright defiance, leading her to explore drug use. Now, she seems indifferent to both her well-being and her personal security.

Following his father’s death, Coleman turned to alcohol and drugs, a path that ultimately led to the loss of custody of his four-year-old daughter. His family now lives with the fear that his addiction will claim his life.

At three years old, Shandon’s childhood fractured when her parents separated and her mother emigrated; now in her mid-twenties, burdened by a daily intravenous drug use costing two hundred dollars, she turns to prostitution to sustain her d…

Following her parents’ separation, Natasha found herself drawn into a world of late-night gatherings fueled by alcohol and drugs. This descent led her to experiment with increasingly dangerous substances, including crystal meth and heroin. …