Alyson, a three-time White House intern and an award-winning student, met a boy in college who initiated her into a lifestyle of heavy drug use. She is addicted to morphine and crack and has returned to live with her parents. Alyson now steals painkillers from her dying father and works at alienating her mother and sister. A 38-year-old former stockbroker, Tommy, is addicted to cocaine. He has quit his job, drained his retirement account and sold his luxury condo to sustain his habit, ending up on the street. Both Alyson and Tommy are confronted by their friends, families and professional interventionists, and urged to get help.
Gabe is addicted to gambling and has lost over $200,000 in the casino. He has even withdrawn money from his parent's accounts without them knowing about it. Vanessa, who was a recurring guest star on the hit show ER, is addicted to shopping. She is heading towards bankruptcy. They both receive interventions so that they can get help and turn their lives around. But they have to want to change.
The family calls in interventionist Jeff VanVonderen to help Jerrie, 29, who is addicted to the painkiller Vicodin. She has been forging physician signatures on prescriptions and scouring the waterfront for drug dealers. Friends try to help Tamela, 24, a bright artist who was molested as a child and now cuts herself with razorblades. They call in interventionist Candy Finnigan in hopes that Tamela will recognize her great potential and go to treatment.
Parents and friends intervene to save Alissa, a compulsive gambler who has lost more than $30,000 on 25-cent slots. Meanwhile her boyfriend juggles three jobs just to make ends meet for them. Then we meet Brian, whose crystal meth habit feeds his sex addiction and sends him trolling the streets for new partners every day.
At 24, Sara had everything she ever wanted in her sleepy Minnesota town. She had a fairy-tale wedding in Hawaii, a beautiful baby girl, a house, three cars, and even competed in beauty pageants. Then, it all abruptly ended in divorce. Not knowing how else to cope Sara turned to Crystal Meth, and now uses every day, all day if she can. A self-labeled ""junkie,"" Sara has lost everything, including custody of her daughter. She currently lives with her parents and exists in an endless cycle of drugs, stealing, lying, drug testing, and court appearances. Her family says the only hope for Sara is an Intervention.
An addiction to crystal meth threatens the life of Travis Meeks, a former rock 'n' roll star. Can his girlfriend and family get him into treatment before it's too late? And Matt, who comes from an upper-middle class home, is addicted to crack-cocaine and has stolen from his family and friends to support his habit. Desperate, his parents turn to an interventionist to save Matt from himself.
Peter, a 21-year-old college graduate and aspiring actor, is wasting his life to a serious video game addiction. Alienated from his mother who abandoned him when he was 12, Peter escapes into the fantasy world of video games instead of dealing with the problems of his real life. Now living with his father and brother, Peter identifies only to the characters in the games he plays, and he is steadily losing his grasp on reality. Renee is a young mother of two small children who is married to a husband who adores her. But Renee is struggling with a deadly eating disorder -- bulimia. A past victim of domestic violence and sexual abuse, Renee binge eats to deal with the pain. Caught in a vicious cycle, she is killing herself by taking laxatives and water pills after she binges. Her husband and friends worry that she will die young and that her destructive habits will be passed on to her children.
Once the valedictorian of New Hope Christian Academy, Tina is now a real-life desperate housewife. Taking 10-20 vicodin a day simply to function (and supplementing her usage with percocet), this mother of a 3-and-a-half year old son spends her days gambling her house and car payments while stoned on prescription pills. With most of her jewelry in pawn shops, and forced to take paycheck advances even though her husband of 14 years has a $100,000+ annual income, Tina now writes insurance policies from home and spends her days at horse tracks and in Bingo halls. Favoring horse tracks because she can take her son with her, Tina says that "my addictions have cost me my life." With her marriage, health and finances in complete crisis (she has spent "hundreds of thousands of dollars on gambling and pills"), her husband Harley says that "this show may be the only thing left that can save our lives."
Cristine is a 29-year-old wife and mother. While she loves her family, she can't live without her beer. Cristine drinks at least 18 beers a day, starting at 7am, sneaking out during work and not stopping until she passes out at night. Her husband's scared for their son and her mother's terrified that Cristine is killing herself. They are staging an Intervention in hopes that Cristine will get help. Kelly is an anorexic who is down to 93 pounds. And now her young daughter Disa is following in her footsteps, often picking at food and sometimes refusing to eat all together. Kelly's friends are seeking help not just to save Kelly, but her daughter as well.
This story, presented from the Intervention angle, will be an emotional look into the true crisis moment of an upper-middle class family from picturesque Huntington Beach trying to "save their son from certain death." Once lovable and talented, Kelly scored well above the genius level with a 160 in Abstract Reasoning on his IQ test. However, Kelly suffers from severe dyslexia and scored a 40 in language. Placed into emotionally and mentally challenged classes as a child, Kelly's family went on to sue the Malibu School System and prevailed - but not before Kelly had lost all of his self-esteem and hopes of a normal education. The grandchild of legendary comedian Jackie Coogan (Uncle Fester on "The Addam's Family"), the now 23-year-old Kelly is a bright, creative and engaging young man - who sleeps in the bushes and uses the jail as a revolving door. Once an athlete excelling in rollerblading, Kelly was recently robbed of his blades while passed out in a park. The story will open as we join Kelly's family searching for him as he has disappeared again on a binge -- the search will start at the local hospitals and jails. The family, in their own words below, sees Intervention as the last hope for their son. Holding Kelly's beloved dog as leverage in the local pound, Leslie and Rob are committed to getting Kelly into treatment at any cost. This 49-year-old good-looking graduate from Texas Christian University sold commercial real estate and had a promising future. Now, he is addicted to prescription pain medication including heavy amounts of the narcotic, oxycontin. Part of a growing epidemic of back pain sufferers in America abusing prescription medication, Mark has undergone seven spinal surgeries that his family is not sure he needed - seemingly to get more medication. Tracing the roots of his problems to a motorcycle accident at the age of 15 (he suffered a broken arm and whiplash), Mark claims he has been dealing with failed back syndrome ever since. Mark take
Rachel, now 26, grew up a beautiful child in idyllic upper-middle class Maryland. But her body is withering away and she hasn't been home in years. Rachel is addicted to heroin and lives on the streets, making money as a prostitute. Her family and friends know she has already hit bottom and is nearing death. An Intervention is their only hope for Rachel. Tommy is a 38-year-old executive from Texas. He began using cocaine heavily a little over a year and half ago. Since that time Tommy quit his job, sold his Lexus, his retirement plan and his million-dollar condo to sustain his cocaine habit. Most of his furniture and other possessions have been sold for cocaine. Tommy is homeless. He is riding around on a bicycle. He sleeps on the roof of his friends' condos or on park benches. He hides from his friends and family because he is so ashamed at what his life has become. The people who love and care for him are desperate for him to get help, an Intervention is their last hope.
Michael has a serious rage problem. He has a history of violent behavior and has been known to punch holes into the walls of his father's house. Randi is a bulimic and a crystal meth addict. She is in denial of her condition and cannot deal with the fact that she was sexually abused as a kid.
A school athlete is addicted to pills and beer after emotional pain. A former wrestling star has turned into a drug addict after a car accident left him paralyzed from the waist down. Even in a wheelchair, he has no problem getting high.
This emotional documentary series helps all types of people face their fears and hopefully cure them of their addictions. This special will allow us to see what happened to everyone after his or her intervention. In addition, letting us see if their intervention was successful or not.
Christmas brings us a follow-up episode. We get updated on previous addicts' present situations. We delve into their lives after the invention and brief follow-up that appears at the end of each episode. We meet again with the addicts several weeks after their interventions for them to update us on their condition, their family and friends and their lives.
Corrine is a dynamic 18 year old student who recently dropped out of college. An academic and athlete, Corrine started using drugs after a sexual abuse incident more than 4 years ago. However, the problem grew worse, and Corrine is now addicted to using a mixture of heroin and methamphetamines. This dangerous mix, in combination with her diabetes medical condition, poses dramatic health problems. Can Corrine's family save her from another trip to the emergency room?
Howard is a professional driving instructor to those that need additional skills and training, such as police officers. But, Howard has a problem. When he's not driving, he's drinking. Now, Howard's liver is failing and he needs to stop or face a complete shut-down of his body. Audrey is a 24 year-old with a heavy addiction to heroin. Audrey has been living on the streets and barely sees her family. Her family is devastated and hopes that an intervention can turn Audrey's life around.
Adam will do anything to get heroin. He regularly engages in stealing, begging, and harassing to the shock of his family. His family is hoping that an intervention will change his deviant ways. Michael is not the typical addict. However, Michael is inflicting terror in his family by using rage as a means of getting what he wants. His violent actions have put the family at risk for abuse. Can an intervention show Michael the destruction he is causing?
Heidi is not your typical addict. Instead of drugs or alcohol, Heidi has an obsession with plastic surgery and is a compulsive shopper. Heidi's difficult past continues to haunt her through the intervention process. Michelle has also had a difficult past with the death of a parent and sexual abuse. Michelle is currently coping with the use of methamphetamines. This dangerous drug has her family worried that every new day might be Michelle's last.
Salina has had problems for the past eleven years. She has been battling severe bulimia and a shopping addiction. Lately, she has been trying out a new addiction, self-mutiliation which prompts her family to contact the show. Her family is desperately hoping that she will reach out and take the lifeline. Troy had relocated to LA and had a bright future ahead of him until his recreational crystal meth usage blew up into a full addiction. Troy claims to have had hundreds of homosexual encounters whilst high. Troy is now homeless and has no job but survives on selling meth. He says that injecting himself with crystal meth helps him survive on the street. His long time friends contacted Intervention to save him
Kristen lost her grandfather, and her parents divorced in the same year. No one ever explained what loss was to her, and that year was the year everything changed. She went from a good student and daughter, to a life of drugs, sex, and defiance in grade 8. She became pregnant when she was 18 to a daughter named Sadie. Now Kristen, 24, lives a life addicted to heroin. She says it only took one try of the addictive drug to be hooked. Now her daughter lives with her father, and Kristen only sees her once a week, under supervision of her Mother. Sadie does not want to ever sleepover at her moms house because she is afraid of her when she is either high on heroin, or getting beat up by her abusive boyfriend. Kristen lost her job as a prostitute during filming of Intervention because they found out about the documentary. Finally Kristen has the intervention, and agrees to go to counselling after a little encouragement from her uncle and daughter. Kristen successfully completed the program.
This follow-up episode showed life after the intervention for Brooks, Audrey and Cristine. Cristine's life used to be all about alcohol. She would drink at breakfast, on the train to work, and all day long afterwards. Her drinking was destroying her love life, as well as the rest of her families. Cristine is now clean, and has kept that way since her intervention. Brooks was addicted to all drugs ever since he was paralyzed in a ATV accident. Him and his brother Ian would rent hotels and do drugs together. Both got interventions, and both went to treatment. Since their interventions, both were tested positive for pot. Audrey was addicted to heroin. She used to be a star athlete, but after she came out to her parents that she was a lesbian, she has been hooked on the drug. Since her intervention, she has been clean, and back to playing the sports she once loved.
Antwahn and Billy are two men who are about to fall off the edge. Antwahn played basketball professionally for Los Angeles Clippers and in Europe for over a decade, but then a knee injury cut his career short. He began to binge on crack-cocaine and ended up homeless on skid row. Billy is your stereotypical drug user, he searches for any type of fix for his desperate need of drugs, and professes a love for the needle. He's a chronic heroin user, he steals his mother's Xanax and her Avon income, and shoots up cocaine intravenously. It's time for an Intervention for these two men.
Annie is both anorexic and bulimic. She is engaged to a man, Kevin, who desperately wants an Intervention for her before her eating disorders kill her. Amy turned to drugs after she was sexually molested at age 16. She tried to deal with the pain with drugs but instead ended up living on park benches with her boyfriend. Amy's mother has reached to Intervention as a last resort. Can interventions save these two young women?
Chuckie is 28, the son of a famous musician and was born in the 70s, the decade of rock 'n' roll. He was surrounded by musicians all his life and grew up as a priveleged kid. He aspired to be an athlete or a singer. Drugs got in the way of his dreams though. He was born addicted to heroin, the third generation addict. Drugs have taken over his life and he is the last family member not to get clean. It's time for him to step up and accept his intervention.
Gina is the fun-loving girl who thirsts for life and is ambitious, but who struggles with an addiction to drugs. Andrea is a 30 year old promising single mother who is addicted to the party scene. She's a brilliant mother by day, a alcoholic and a drug addict by night. This is her chance to turn her life around with an intervention.
John is a man who is highly addicted to crack and alcohol. He turned to drugs at 13 when he lost his mother. His family is now staging in Intervention to try and save him.
Remember Antwahn and Rachel? See how they're doing on this follow up episode.
Tammi is a 45 year old woman hooked on alcohol despite her middle class upbringing. Her family paid for everything from golf lessons to tennis lessons. Daniel is a man who got addicted to meth after trying it out as a result of his emotional difficulties surrounding his molestation. Interventions are the only hopes for these two adults now.
Mike's past of being a high achiever left him behind when he began speed balling, mixing herion with cocaine. He's lost everything and an intervention is his only option to potentially put his life back together again. James was also a smart person, a student with straight As until he started to take meth to try and deal with his mother's near fatal illness. His mother has contacted Intervention to try and save her son.
Tim has a major problem...crack. Before the drugs, he was headed on the right path. He was a successful producer and musician with a bright future. He let crack run his life and he almost lost everything.
Betsy went through a devastating time when her marriage fell apart. She began drinking heavily to help the pain. Her family is trying to help her with no results. They finally give her an ultimatum. She either quits drinking or she will lose all of their support and she would be on her own.
Cristy had a bright career in front of her as a clothing designer until she got hooked on crystal meth and alcohol at age 13. She gets her money for drugs by stripping in a local bar. Her family has been trying to help for a very long time. Cristy's dad has seen her deteriorate right up to this lowest point. She is on the verge of a psychotic state and has already been diagnosed with a psychological disorder.
Once a socialite, high school cheerleader, regular actress on All My Children and The Doctors, and was a once very successful interior decorator. Now Sylvia, working as a retailer, has been an alcoholic for 5 years. She drinks up to 15 mini bottles of vodka a day, visits the bar on her lunch break, goes to work drunk, and drives home drunk. Her children were taken away from her and now live with her ex-husband. Her mother oftens comes to her house, and searches for Sylvia's stash and throws anything she can find in the garbage. Everyone can see Sylvia's problem is getting worse day by day, and an intervention may be Sylvia's only chance to save herself.
Jessie, a 21 year old college student studying medicine and hopes of working in medical field, has been bulimic for 3 years. She eats everything and anything she can get, and purges up to 3 times a day. She was forced to leave college, and was kicked out of her sorority for eating everyones share of food. Then she was kicked out of her parent's house because they couldn't afford to feed her anymore. Now she works as a hostess by day, and secretly is a stripper by night to support her disorder. Laurie, a mother of 3, is addicted to pain killers. She takes a variety of pills daily, up to 10 a day. Now her children live with her parents because they were taken away from Laurie. Both girls families' have interventions to save there lives, and both agree to the terms.
Lauren seemed to be on exactly the right track in life. In high school she was a cheerleader, a dancer, a swimmer and a fabulous student. After graduating college, she became a high school health and gym teacher and was highly admired by the students. All of this was a smokescreen however for her fast growing problem - her addiction to heroin. This three year problem has cost Lauren her job and her apartment. She has resorted to living with her mother and is plagued by mood swings. Her family feels that their only hope for Lauren lies in an intervention.
Ryan and his family are one of those families that look perfect. Stick them under a microscope however and you will find that beneath the posh home in northern California, Ryan's sucess as a drummer, beneath this, Ryan is secretly an OxyContin addict. He injects it up to 15 times per day and his mood swing are far less than tolerable. His family hopes an intervention will save him.
Anorexia and bulimia affect millions of people worldwide. Kim, who is 34 years old, is one of them, with a life that has tragically fallen apart. In school, she was extroverted, successful, and popular. However, her insecurities about her looks soon took over her life enticing her to engage in binging and purging. Kim’s husband divorced her and she has lost her job. She had no choice but to move back in with her parents with a promise to get her life back together. Kim’s stepfather has seen this promise go by for years. He has never seen Kim as her normal self and is frustrated that her promise has not been met, even with all the help they have given. They do not get along well and the tension fuels Kim to abstain from food for days at a time. Kim’s parents, especially her mother, have been mentally anguished because of the burden of the disease. Kim’s mother, a nurse at the local hospital, pleads with Kim to get help and get her life back together and so that the whole family can return to normal.
Another family has been torn by addiction. Jacob's mother has been a drug user and a dealer in the past. Yet, she puts her past behind her and pleads for her son to stop his current destructive state of using alcohol and prescription drugs. She knows if he continues to stay addicted, death is the only outcome. Jacob is a violent drunk and endangers others in his binge drinking episodes by driving while intoxicated. He has been to the ER more than a few times and recently had to be resuscitated from a no pulse state because of an overdose on alcohol in combination with pills. Jacob is extremely persistent in his actions and behaviors, and is severely addicted to alcohol. Can his mother and family turn his life around with an intervention?
Anthony is part of a large loving family that has experienced a lot of pain. His sister overdosed on heroin and died as a result. The shock of her death has left the whole family in pieces. Anthony had been casually smoking lighter drugs at the time, but then switched to cocaine to numb the pain. He is also heavily addicted to injecting methadone, an opioid substance like morphine and heroin. He switches between the two all day and night. His father allows him to work at one of his pizzerias but does not pay him much of the time for fear that he will use the money for drugs. When he does pay him, Anthony usually always goes against his father’s wishes. Anthony’s father is desperate for him to get help and hates to see his son hooked on hard drugs. Anthony’s mother is still recovering from her daughter’s death and the anguish over Anthony’s drug use has had severe mental and physical effects on her. Many other family members, including his other siblings, uncles, and cousins have agreed to participate in this intervention in hopes that Anthony will change his destructive and deadly ways
Dillon injects methamphetamine, or "meth", a psychostimulant hard drug. After his parents split up in a bitter divorce, he rejects his mother, Tammy, and lives with his abusive and alcoholic father. Tammy protests this and pleads Dillon to get help before the drugs cause more erratic and destructive behavior. Dillon somehow finds out that he is on the show and threatens to leave town if the family tries anything. He orders the directors to stop filming and kicks them out of his father’s trailer. Tammy and Interventionist Jeff VanVonderen have to quickly set the intervention in place. They gather the family members together to make their statements. They also call upon the local police department for help because they think Dillon is going to be exceptionally violent about the whole situation.
Trent, 33, has a severe addiction to heroin, an opioid substance like morphine. He comes from a family of violence and abuse and his parents are divorced. Trent has been addicted to various drugs for over 22 years and has tried treatment over a dozen times. Trent has lost everything: over 70 pounds, his home, his job, and all of his money to this recent addiction. He has hepatitis C and is malnourished. He steals to buy drugs in the city every morning and injects heroin up to 10 times a day. His girlfriend of many years has stood by him and takes care of him by offering her home on some cold nights. She has pushed him to go to treatment but this time the heroin addiction is just too strong. Trent doesn't believe it will do any good this time. Trent still loves his girlfriend and wants to be with her and is extremely frustrated that his addiction has taken this much toll on his life. He wants to get help very badly, but the addiction runs his life now. Can his friends and distant mother turn his life around and make him the excellent chef he once was?
Jessica is a 21 year old from a close family that is being torn apart from her heroin addiction. Heroin is from the same addictive family as called opiates and also includes morphine, codeine, and opium. Coming together for this intervention is showing to be increasingly difficult. Hubert is 50 and struggles with a difficult past full of painful memories. Alcohol has helped him cope in the wrong ways and it is his siblings who come to help him try to turn the past 6 months of hard addiction into a road to recovery.
Laney is an alcoholic who has lost everything she had dreamed for. She has already been to the Emergency Room numerous times and once to the ICU. Her body is heavily damaged from years of abuse. Desparate for attention from her divorced husband whom she still has feeling for, her days are full of binge drinking for hours at a time. Laney's family is upset that it has gotten this far. Laney has also openly mentioned suicidal thoughts as well pushing the family for an intervention as soon as possible. Can Laney get help before it's too late?
Ashley, 20, is a user of various drugs and regularly runs away from her problems at home. She has done it countless times, whenever she wants to escape from something she doesn't want to do. She dislikes her family's strict religious views and values and has since drawn away from them to live by her own rules. But can she survive alone and without her family's support? The family comes together to try and change Ashley's strayful ways with an intervention.
Andrea is a nurse and also a crack addict. She knows the effects of the drug and the consequences, yet she continues to put her life at risk. Her family is very worried about her and hopes that an intervention can get her back on the right track. Ricky was a well-rounded student with good marks and great athletic abilities. He has served the country as a police officer and by being part of the military. His addiction to heroin has tainted his accomplishments and needs an intervention to change his life.
Leslie is a mother of three kids and a prominent member of the community. She volunteers her time at her children's school and at the local church. However, she's hiding a dark and raging addiction to alcohol that threatens the family's stability. After many encounters with the law because of her addiction, can Leslie finally choose her family over alcohol with the help of an intervention?
Coley has a good life with his wife and family as well as a good job in the forestry industry. Yet, Coley has an addiction to crystal meth and snorts the substance on a daily basis. This makes his job much more endangering than it really should be. Coley's life, filled with the things he loves most, is falling apart, and the only solution the family sees is sending him to treatment.
Caylee, 23, is bulimic and has an addiction to heroin. She has dropped down to 80 lbs, which is dangerously low. Caylee's mother, Christy, has been a major influence for her addictive behavior. Christy has had a terrible past and has hidden bulimia from her family since she was much younger, over 30 years ago. Christy taught Caylee how to watch her weight and together they now suffer from this very dangerous eating disorder. The family wants to help both of them, but they need to have Christy present at the intervention to first confront Caylee. Then, the family plans to confront Christy, with treatment options for both of them.
Pam is an alcoholic with a terrible past full of failed marriages and abuse. She uses drinking to cope with her past and to try to move forward in her life. Cirrhosis, the degradation of the liver due specifically to alcohol, has already claimed one member of her family. Her family does not want Pam to be the second victim and urge her through an Intervention to agree to treatment.
Jill was a successful beautiful person but was betrayed by a boyfriend who distributed copies of a tape that depicted them having sex. Now, Jill is depressed and hurt, using a substance to numb her pain. Jill is becoming addicted to alcohol and fast. Her family wants to have an intervention in the hopes of preventing any further damage.
Emily is an excessive dieter. At 26, she has already had a difficult life battling depression with low self-esteem and negative thoughts. Emily was a date-rape victim in college and used dieting as a means of controlling her emotions. However, she now weighs less than 90 pounds and is on a slippery path that could easily end in death. Emily's family is hoping an intervention will save her.
Dawn, 49, is a meth addict, suffering the extreme physical addiction symptoms of the drug. She often hallucinates and imagines things, symptoms of meth psychosis. Dawn lives on the streets and wanders from place to place. Dawn's family is desperately trying to get her help. Will she accept the offer of treatment? For Fabian, 37, an addiction has cost him everything and was once an entrepreneur.
This follow-up looks at two addicts from Season 3. First was Ryan, the very troubled OxyContin addict we saw in the premiere. Recall that he left treatment early and there weren't very many good updates on his progress. How is Ryan doing now? Hubert is an alcoholic who confronted his feelings during his intervention. What is Hubert doing now in his sobriety?
Brooke, 26, uses prescription pain killers to control her early onset of rheumatoid arthritis. Brooke has now become addicted to these prescription pills, which often contain opiates, a very addictive category of substances. She denies her dependence on the drug and her family is hoping an intervention can make her realize that she needs help.
Jason, 23, is from a religiously strict family. Jason's parents dealt plenty of punishments. However, after his mother reveals a pressing secret, Jason's father was ejected from the church and had to take up several jobs to feed his family. Left with minimal supervision, Jason turned to drugs and alcohol, and his younger sister, Joy, soon followed. Can a double intervention save these siblings?
Ben is a 25-year-old potential genius but has a past filled with violence, homelessness, and isolation. Ben dealt with his troubles by turning to a drug called DXM. DXM is found in some cough-suppressants that, when taken at higher doses, produces effects similar to PCP (a hallucinogenic). Ben performs desperate crimes to finance his addiction. Josh is a 22-year-old food addict who weights 550lbs. Josh's father has the same weight problem with diabetes and a history of 6 strokes at 317lbs. Josh's father does not want an early death for his son, and the whole family hopes that both Josh and Rex can support each other through an intervention to get healthy.
Tressa is 32 and was one of the world's top female shot-putters. However, a routine drug test revealed a life as a IV drug user. Tressa is now using crystal meth daily as her life spirals out of control. Can her family save Tressa?
John was a former athletic star but an injury led him to drown his disappointment in alcohol and a variety of drugs. John is aggressive and his addiction is fueling distance between everyone he knows. Many family members are participating in hopes that an intervention can save John's life.
After serving two rounds in Iraq, Brad has returned home but has brought some extra baggage with him: post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He has begun to use drugs and alcohol to numb and forget the endless nightmares and flashbacks that haunt him. Unfortunately, it is getting worse, and his temper and reckless behavior are becoming life-threatening to himself and others. His family is banding together and holding an intervention.
Lawrence, 34, is a successful entrepreneur but had a dark past of emotional and physical abuse. He numbs his pain with alcohol, drinking litres of alcohol a day. He has also battled cancer recently. His family gather for an intervention in the hope to change his life.
Donnie Wahlberg narrates a special report on heroin addiction among the residents of the Boston suburbs.
Chad, 34, has had many privileges, such as being a professional cyclist and training with athletes like Lance Armstrong. However, Chad's deviant behavior and his turn to drugs like crack caused his cycling career and reputation to be questioned. His family are holding an intervention in hoping Chad's "rock bottom" won't end up being his own death
Dan is married and has a family - everything seems fine on the surface. He is an avid water sport enthusiast in Hawaii with his own business. However, Dan turns to alcohol to numb the violence and abuse from his teen years. Dan's family is holding an intervention in order for him to find better ways of dealing with this pain from the past.
Painkillers, anti-depressants, anti-psychotics, and sleeping pills are a very dangerous combination. Sandra's children have left, her husband and friends ration her pills drastically. They don't know what else to do, since the addiction is much too out of control. Will she choose her family over her addiction?
Dealing with a rough childhood and dark past, Charles became a motocross rider as a passion. With counseling and care from his grandparents, he still deviated and started to use various drugs, like cocaine, methamphetamines, and heroin. He still uses heroin and has added alcohol and pushed his family away. Many of Charles' family have gathered for this important intervention.
Marie struggled with poverty and has had 3 marriages end in divorce. She still managed to become successful, becoming a matchmaker and socialite, appearing on TV and other talk shows. Her next husband is an addict and an alcoholic and Marie soon had the same problem - alcohol. Marie's family is racing to hold this intervention in hope that she will change her ways.
Tom grew up in a gangster lifestyle in a rough Boston neighborhood. By the time he was 20, he was working as a fireman but dealing drugs and getting into trouble by night. Tom has a family and four children but has now lost them all due to the pending drug charges after being caught. Can his family save him from losing everything?
Teasing caused Asa to be insecure about his weight, ethnicity, and sexuality. He became bulimic and started using drugs and alcohol to deal with harsh realities. Asa is a medical science student and knows all about how his addictions are affecting his body, but he is unable to stop on his own. Can his family come together to get him the help he needs?
He was once a championship bodybuilder and successful property owner. But when he turned 30, Derek felt he was over the hill and became severely depressed. He started drinking to cope with the pressures of marriage and the responsibilities of getting older. His beautiful wife left, and now Derek’s days are all the same–he sits in his dark basement, smoking and drinking and bemoaning the loss of his wife. He narrowly survived one suicide attempt and his family is worried he’ll try again. An intervention is their last hope.
Trauma from childhood caused Allison to quit her aspirations of becoming a doctor halfway through her pre-medical program at college. Allison's parents also got divorced and she started to inhale a compressed gas used as a computer dust remover. The mixture of chemicals is potentially fatal with every use, however, Allison uses up to 10 cans per day. Can Jeff turn Allison's life around?
A disturbing look into one small town in northern Alabama where many are struggling with addiction to methamphetamines and other drugs. People offer their stories including Chuck, a father who may lose custody of his children; Boo, who has become aged horribly due to long-time drug use; Shanta, who used the drug while pregnant. Dr. Holley explains her interest in helping the entire town rid the addiction. A special, first-of-its-kind episode of Intervention you can't miss.
Phillip, 44, is an established singer and writer but has had an unstable childhood full of pain. He numbs that pain with alcohol but has lost his career and his family. Can he break this cycle of recklessness and restore his lost relationships, especially the one with his daughter?
Once a police officer until injured, Mike now 67, used to catch addicts and drug dealers. Now, Mike's OCD signs are emerging, with his obsessions about germs forcing him to wash his hands over 40 times a day. The obsessions of germs is so bad, that Mike starves thinking his food is spoiled. Jenny, 32, was treated for endometriosis which crushed her dreams of having a family. She turned to prescription drugs but her addiction escalated to heroin and methamphetamines. Jenny has overdosed several times already. Can her family stop enabling her drug use and get her the help she needs?
An episode of Intervention where former addicts come together for a candid discussion on what has changed since their time on the show. Have they gotten their lives back on tract? How are their relationships? Those participating include Sylvia (Season 2. Ep#32), Michelle (Season 2, Ep#17), Hubert (Season 3, Ep#41), Dillon (Season 3, Ep#40), and Coley (Season 3, Ep#46). Also interviewed the regular interventionists: Jeff, Candy, and Ken. The special is hosted by Chris Lawford.
When Kristen was 3, her parents divorced and soon after her grandparents died, and Kristen somehow felt responsible. Then Kristen's mother married an alcoholic and addict, whose daughter introduced Kristen to drugs. By 15, Kristen was getting high. Currently, Kristen shoots heroin and cocaine, and then stays with her parents to recover. Ridden with guilt, Kristen's mother is desperate to save her only daughter's life.
Ed, 53, and Bettina, 49, had a picture-perfect life, including three adoring kids, a dream home, sports cars, motorcycles, and a respected place in their church community. But six years ago, Ed made a bad career move and ended up unemployed. He and Bettina lost everything they had worked for. They began to drink, and quickly became alcoholics. Ed has been hospitalized for internal bleeding, and Bettina for withdrawals so excruciating she thought she was dying. Their children have begged them to stop drinking but they need an intervention now to help their parents.
The liquor cabinets of the 1950s have become the medicine cabinets of today. In one port town on Florida's west coast, pharmaceutical drug abuse and its often fatal consequences are sharply on the rise, particularly among teenagers and other young people. This year, deaths from pharmaceutical drug overdoses in the area are on pace to exceed accidental deaths from car accidents--and legal drugs account for three times as many overdoses as illegal drugs. Many officials believe that the drug dealer on the corner has been replaced by the pharmacies and pain clinics that now litter the streets of this community. Meet several people whose lives have been taken over by abuse of deadly and addictive drugs--all of which are perfectly legal. We'll also meet a group of community members and experts who are taking to the streets and airwaves in the hopes of stopping this silent epidemic once and for all.
At age 6, Janet was molested. She was also bullied by other kids, making her extremely self-conscious about her looks. At 18, she married a drug dealer who made her rich, but her husband was sent to prison, leaving her alone with two sons. She turned to drugs and alcohol, and had multiple affairs. Her husband discovered one of her affairs and divorced her. Janet remarried and had two more children, but she missed her old luxurious lifestyle and began drinking heavily. Now she frequently passes out, threatens suicide, and puts herself in life-threatening situations.
Medicine cabinets are fuller than ever today. In one port town on Florida's west coast, pharmaceutical drug abuse and its often fatal consequences are sharply on the rise, particularly among teenagers and other young people. This year, deaths from pharmaceutical drug overdoses in the area are on pace to exceed accidental deaths from car accidents. Legal drugs account for three times as many overdoses as illegal drugs - an alarming finding. Pain clinics prescribe opioids like aspirin. Meet several people whose lives have been taken over by abuse of deadly and addictive drugs, all of which are perfectly legal. We'll also meet a group of community members and experts who are taking to the streets and airwaves in the hopes of stopping this silent epidemic once and for all.
After being molested as a child, Nicole developed an unusual eating disorder--she was unable to swallow. By age 16, she weighed just 68 pounds, and doctors inserted a feeding tube into her stomach. The tube was supposed to be temporary, but 16 years later, Nicole still relies on the tube and can't swallow any food or liquids. She also abuses prescription drugs and neglects her two daughters. Her husband plans to divorce her if she continues to neglect their children.
Brittany was born five years after the brutal rape and murder of her 9-year-old sister, Terry. Brittany struggled with the pressure to live up to her mother's perfect image of Terry. At 12, Brittany was molested, and she began taking drugs and sneaking out at night--anything to get out from under Terry's shadow. Now she shoots up Dilaudid six times a day, begs family members for money and prostitutes herself. Brittany's mother scrambles to give Brittany enough money for her fix. Desperate and on the verge of bankruptcy, Brittany's family prepares for an intervention.
John has type one diabetes but refuses to be diligent about checking his blood sugar, or taking his insulin. A social misfit and an outcast for many years, John wants to be considered a regular guy, and pretends to be one by eating whatever he wants without regard for his illness. He has been in a near-coma and hospitalized multiple times. His parents want to stop enabling his self-destructive behavior, but won't kick him out of the house because they fear he'll die without their supervision.
In this follow-up show, we check back in with Tressa and Josh. Tressa's meth addiction destroyed her promising Olympic career. Now eight months sober, she's working hard to stay on the right path and rekindle some of that lost potential. Going home for her mother's wedding, she encounters both the joy and the pain of her old lifestyle. Josh once weighed more than 500 pounds. Now 200 pounds lighter, Josh is planning a surprise visit to his family to bring them together for the first time since their intervention.
Once a successful hairstylist, Casie now works in a small-town salon to fuel her $500-a-week meth habit. Casie's childhood was marred by her mother's drug addiction. Suffering from low self-esteem, Casie became bulimic and an addict. She lost her career, her life's savings, and her husband. Casie's mother now tries to make up for Casie's difficult childhood by enabling her, even at the cost of her own marriage. Casie's boyfriend, John, also an addict, is desperately trying to keep her alive. Casie's drug use is taking everyone down with her.
From an early age, Anthony's father made him feel worthless. His parents divorced, and his mother remarried, but she was still unhappy and turned to alcohol and drugs. It was little wonder, then, that Anthony began drinking at age 13. Another blow came when Anthony's younger brother died of leukemia. Anthony spiraled downward, and now he drinks half a gallon of vodka a day and takes whatever drugs he can find.
Lana grew up in a family of 11 children, and her older sister introduced her to drinking at the age of seven. Despite this precarious start, Lana excelled in sports and was active in the church. But at 18, Lana began to enter into dangerous relationships with men and started abusing drugs and alcohol. She was in two near-fatal car accidents. And now, too make things even worse, she is in a relationship plagued by physical violence.
When Angelina was eight, her family grew apart over an argument about money. Her mother turned to prescription drugs and cocaine to deal with the stress. After graduating from high school, Angelina became her younger brother's legal guardian, but she was overwhelmed by the job of taking care of her brother and addict mother. Angelina became addicted to OxyContin and spent her trust fund of $350,000 on the drug. Then Angelina turned to cheaper drugs and heroin to support her habit.
Born into a family with traditional Catholic values, Chris struggled with his sexuality until coming out at 18. Now, at 34, Chris feels that being gay has cheated him out of the things he wants most--marriage, children, and inclusion in his family. He drinks first thing in the morning to ward off tremors, he's abusive to his partner, and he can't keep a job. His father believes Chris should be able to stop drinking by sheer force of will, but his mother believes that genetics is to blame for his alcoholism. Can the family overcome its divisions and work together for Chris?
The face of gambling addiction has changed, dramatically. More women are falling prey to this insidious compulsion. They often sit for hours in front of slot-machines, poker tables, or even online gaming sites--leaving children unattended and piling up staggering debts. This is no longer a game. Many of these women have gone to great lengths to hide their gambling from families, only to hit rock bottom and lose everything. Some even serve time in jail. We will go inside this compulsion, examining the shame and fear that keeps it hidden, and the surprising casualties caught up in the gamble.
Beloved by his five sisters and his teenage son, Nik 35, was the glue that holds his large family together. He was a proud college graduate who became the director of a multi-million-dollar casino chain at a young age. But now Nik is a homeless drug addict. Four years ago, after a debilitating back injury, he became addicted to OxyContin. His addiction worsened and he turned to heroin. Now Nik has lost his job, his home, and custody of his son. A tall, beautiful brunette, Tiffany maintained a perfect GPA in high school and played Varsity basketball. But despite her achievements, Tiffany's childhood was plagued by her parents' violent marriage and their drug and alcohol abuse. She married at 19 to escape the pain of her youth, but her controlling husband forced her to move back in with her mother. Battling feelings of worthlessness, Tiffany self-medicated with alcohol. Now, she has been hospitalized numerous times for alcohol-related injuries and has attempted suicide.
Married with children and with a well established home, Sandy is struggling with her own addiction. She abuses prescription pain medication and mixes it with alcohol. Her family constantly keeps watch to monitor her diabetes and addictions. She's been in the hospital several times for complications to her illness. Can her family help her realize she has so much to live for?
Sharon, 51, has several difficulties that have her family worried. She compulsively shops to take her mind off things. She has had several plastic surgery procedures due to feeling her appearance is inadequate. And she physically abuses her body because of a negative view of herself. Sharon is also acting impulsively, feeling urges to act out and harm people and things. Sharon's family are hoping for a proper diagnosis and treatment before she harms herself or anyone else.
Abandoned in Calcutta and later adopted, Gabe has had to deal with the difficulties of being adopted and part of an ethnic minority. He rebelled and started using drugs, which later escalated to cocaine. After being awarded money in a car accident, it was all used to buy drugs. His family hopes an intervention will save his life.
A firefighter who saved lives, Jeff kept reliving the horrible events he had seen. He started to drink and now the problem has escalated - to the point of being hospitalized for seizures. His family had cut off their ties but come together to try and save him.
An interesting case of twins, with hard working immigrant parents, wasting away from anorexia. It appears a "competitive" spirit fuels the sisters to strive in burning more calories and taking in less food. Their family is extremely worried and hope that an intervention can help save them both.
When he was five, Donald's parents divorced. He longed for a strong father figure, but his father had very little contact with him. Donald became a gifted boxer, but ultimately chose drugs over his career. He joined a violent gang and turned to stealing to support his crack habit. Donald's girlfriend just had a baby and Donald has a second chance to be a good father, but his crack use is spiraling out of control.
Jason grew up in a seemingly perfect upper-middle class family in Littleton, Col., but he struggled to gain his father's approval. When Jason failed to make the baseball team his freshman year, Jason and his father were devastated. Jason began rollerblading and excelled, but he quit because his father disapproved of the sport. Jason turned to drugs and by his senior year he was an addict. A year later, the Columbine High School shooters named Jason one of the bullies they retaliated against. Overcome with guilt and grief for his dead classmates, (He felt that it was his fault that the massacre happened.) Jason's addiction escalated. Now Jason lives on the streets of Denver, and his family is in pieces.
When she was young, Nikki's mother and grandmother worked hard to give her a good life. Nikki excelled in school, but she was devastated when her grandmother died. She began hanging out with a rebellious crowd, skipping school, and using crack. Nikki eventually had two daughters, but has remained addicted to drugs. Her daughters desperately want to have a relationship with Nikki, and know that an intervention is their only hope of saving their mother's life.
Forty-two year old Bret grew up as a "golden boy", playing sports. He married his high school sweetheart, Amaya, and they had two children, Kelsey and Kyle. Bret was a real estate agent. He and Amaya divorced after he began drinking heavily. He had an intervention before; this time, he strongly resisted and angrily left and walked back to his house. His family broke into his condo to take his shotgun after worrying he may use it on himself. He agreed to treatment after his family threatened to make him take a psychiatric evaluation. Bret went to the Hope by the Sea treatment center in California. Eighty days into treatment, Bret was diagnosed with advanced esophageal cancer. He died three weeks later on June 19, 2009. He was sober for 104 days.
As a boy, Aaron Brink was subjected to his parents' divorce and custody battle. He lived with his father while his 2 brothers lived with their mother. Aaron began rebelling in his teens, experimenting with alcohol and other drugs and spending time in juvenile prison. In his 20s he began a successful career as a mixed martial arts fighter and also worked as a porn star. He was introduced to crystal meth through the porn industry and addiction quickly took over his life. His wife and family are at their wit's end and hope Aaron will accept treatment to save his life. Andrea, a 29 year old mother of two from Milwaukee, grew up in a household strained by divorce and her father's alcoholism. Andrea married at 19 and had 2 children and seemed well on her way to happiness and stability, but turned to drink after her father died of the disease and is quickly following in her father's footsteps to an early grave. Andrea's mother, estranged husband and 2 children hope Andrea will accept treatment and return to being the wife and mother she was before she started drinking.
Although she has two loving children and an adoring husband, Danielle is dangerously addicted to Percocet. As a teen, Danielle felt neglected by her alcoholic father and began cutting herself. Now she spends each day hiding behind closed curtains, ignoring her children, and self-medicating with up to 40 Percocet a day. An intervention is the last chance Danielle's children have to get their mother back.
The episode features Chad Gerlach, clean nearly a year, in training for his first competitive cycling race (in Italy) since undergoing treatment. He has signed on with a cycling team consisting of and sponsored by recovering addicts. His relationship with his girlfriend, pregnant with their first child, is also featured. The other half of the episode features Brooke, still struggling with abuse of prescription medications. She returned from treatment to her hometown and family and appeared to be well on the road to recovery before suffering a relapse. Eventually she is put on a different regimen of medications for her rheumatoid arthritis and undergoes knee replacement surgery, which greatly improves her mobility and obviates the need for addictive prescription medications.
As a boy, Joey was subjected to his parents' divorce and subsequent remarriages. Both parents were focused primarily on their new marriages and starting new families and often neglected Joey's emotional needs. Joey entered his teens feeling rejected and abandoned by his parents, and began experimenting with marijuana and other drugs. At 19 he broke into his mother's house and stole her credit cards to finance his burgeoning heroin habit. His mother pressed charges and Joey spent a year in prison. Upon his release he entered treatment, began a successful career as a tattoo artist, met his girlfriend (also in recovery) and fathered a little girl (Lyla). Fatherhood proved to be too much pressure on Joey, however, and he relapsed. Now, Joey is seriously addicted to heroin, spending over $200 per day on the drug, is estranged from his father and has a dysfunctional relationship with his mother, and is in danger of losing his family, his home and his life to his addiction. Joey's family hopes an intervention can help him accept treatment, repair his relationship with his family and learn how to be a proper father to his little girl.
Sebastian and Marcel are brothers, ages 21 and 20, who were soccer stars at a young age. Sebastian was cool and rebellious, he hung out with older teammates and started doing marijuana, cocaine and meth. Meanwhile, Marcel started using cocaine, Xanax and OxyContin, and would also sell drugs. Their older brother is mad, their mom feels betrayed, and their father is ready to give up his wife, oldest son and his own life in order to save them.
Gloria, 53, is proud of being a good cook and an independent, fun-loving woman. She uses her cooking and charm as a means of getting her family to allow her to drink as much as she wants. Gloria found difficulty in raising her kids, especially with having an abusive husband. Gloria discovered she had breast cancer and underwent chemotherapy and radiation at he age of 42, but kept on drinking. Now she drinks and drives, misses work, and spends all her money on alcohol.
Everyone believed Marci lived a perfect life. Her mother would go off to work and leave her alone with an abusive, alcoholic father. As she endured the abuse, mom turned her head and ignored it. Marci turned to drugs and alcohol too. Her marriage would fail and she lost the children. Yet her mother still believes she has no problems. Can an intervention help Marci and her mother to stop their dangerous behavior before it's too late?
This special looks at the gut-wrenching but hopeful stories of three Iraq veterans and their struggles with addiction caused by combat stress. Leia's flashbacks to the terrifying things she saw in Iraq caused her to drink until she connected with a support group of fellow veterans. Paul saw some of the heaviest fighting of the war and turned to alcohol and cocaine when he returned home, but a detox program is helping him to cope and move on. And after Matt was discharged, he had vivid nightmares about being shot or burning, and he started drinking to calm himself down.
Gabe and Allison return to tell their stories after they both faced interventions and treatment. Gabe used heroin to deal with the deep emotional scars caused by his adoption. Will Gabe ever be able to accept his family's love and support? Meanwhile, Allison, who was addicted to inhalants, visits home for the first time to try to make amends to the people she hurt.
Follow this country's leading "sober companions" as they do whatever it takes to keep high-risk addicts struggling with relapse, from falling back into addiction. Most addicts can get clean in treatment, but what happens when they try to live on their own? Viewers will watch as Donna, a sober companion and former meth addict works one on one with Tara, a beautiful young mother who is desperate to stay off meth long enough to see her daughter again after a solid year apart. Mike's client is a teenager who has been staying with "friends" in a known gang house. Once a quiet kid, his behavior has gotten increasingly erratic and violent and his mother suspects is getting into harder drugs. It is Mike's job to get this kid out of harm's way.
A lot of people think that Humboldt County in northern California is an American paradise. Small towns in the county like Arcata look like they've been plucked right out of a Norman Rockwell painting. But the town has a dirty little secret--law enforcement officials say that over 1,000 homes there may be growing marijuana illegally. Capt. Mark Chapman and the Humboldt County Drug Task Force are determined to take back the town, house by house. Our cameras follow as they make busts and fly over forestlands searching for hidden marijuana groves.
After graduating college, Linda found success working as an extra in Hollywood, achieving the glamorous life she always wanted. But her dreams died when she came down with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a rare disorder characterized by joint dislocations. Linda started taking fentanyl, a painkiller 100 times stronger than morphine. As her painkiller use escalated, she claimed that different sources were causing her pain, including electricity, energy, colors, and even specific people. Despite Linda's wild claims, her mother clings to the belief that Linda's pain is real and she must do everything to help her, including depleting the family's savings and sending her son to be Linda's caretaker.
Greg once owned a thriving business and was a devoted husband and father. But after a back injury left him disabled, he lost his business, started gambling, and became dependent on pain medication. He also became obsessed with Internet sweepstakes scams, and he has bankrupted his family in a relentless pursuit of big winnings. Having lost everything, Greg's family just wants their proud father back.
Once an effervescent, beautiful young woman, Jennifer was considered a genius by her teachers and was the pride and joy of her parents. But at age 17, Jennifer was involved in a car accident that caused a brain injury and kidney damage. Jennifer survived, but only three days after she left the hospital another family car accident ended in a fatality. Jennifer turned to drugs and alcohol to cope and now spends her days searching for parties or drinking companions. Her parents know that only an intervention can save her.
Once a gifted singer/songwriter, Rob was part of a successful band. He loved the rock 'n' roll lifestyle, but he began a long descent into addiction when he turned to drugs and alcohol to fuel his creativity. When his band fell apart (a casualty of his drug use) he was devastated. He lost his siblings' respect and custody of his daughter. Now he spends his days in a haze of meth smoke and alcohol in his filthy apartment. But his mother still sees him as her sweet little boy. Will she love him to death, or will Rob's family be able to save him from himself?
Amy grew up feeling unloved and unable to meet her parents' high expectations. She was also molested by a neighbor when she was eight, but never told anyone in her family. She began to self-mutilate and restrict her diet, and by 17, she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Now, Amy eats only 500 calories a day, drinks up to two bottles of vodka a night, and regularly self-mutilates. Amy's family is ready to give up on her, but they still don't know about Amy's sexual abuse. Only Amy's friend, Jessica, knows the truth, but will she have the courage to tell Amy's family before it's too late?
Raped when she was 14 and feeling abandoned by her family, Sarah turned to drugs, even becoming a stripper to support her drug habit. She's prohibited by the courts from seeing her three-year-old son, and now lives with a man who is more than twice her age and manages a massage parlor. Can an intervention save her from her self-destructive lifestyle?
Once known as "the prettiest girl in town", Jackie had a promising career as a radiation therapist. She became a wealthy doctor's wife, a country club member, and a proud mother. But Jackie was haunted by childhood traumas. She was devastated when her father died when she was 13. And as an overweight adolescent, she was teased with the nickname "Fat Jack" and felt she was never as good as her pretty sister. After Jackie's second pregnancy ended in a miscarriage, she turned to alcohol.
When Vinnie was a boy, his father abused him physically and verbally, leaving his mother feeling helpless. He developed a love for fast-paced sports, including BMX, motocross, and car racing, but his need for speed turned into an addiction to crack cocaine. Now, Vinnie lives in his car with his dog and smokes up to $1,000 worth of crack a week. Vinnie's mother tries to make up for not protecting him when he was younger by giving him money and a place to stay. But Vinnie needs more than that--he needs an intervention.
When Robby's mother discovered his talent for music, she became a classic stage mother and relentlessly pushed him. Robby formed a group which became an instant success, even earning a Grammy nomination. But Robby indulged in the excesses of fame and fortune, and became an alcoholic. The group fell apart, and Robby became deeply depressed. His family and friends fear that he is intentionally drinking himself to death and believe that an intervention is their last hope.
They're cheap, easy to get and legal. They're also deadly. But that's not stopping teenagers and young adults from using chemical inhalants to get high. Hundreds of everyday products--household cleaners, disinfectants, computer dusters--contain chemicals that when breathed in give a powerful five-second high. It's called huffing and studies show that over two million kids nationwide are doing it. We'll take a powerful look at the trend and how it is shocking parents and destroying young lives.
Working as a fitness instructor at the most elite gyms and partying on the club circuit at night, Marquel seems to have the perfect life. But her family sees her exercise regime as obsessive-compulsive, and they watch her binge-drinking episodes end up in hospitalizations. They believe she is an exercise addict, bulimic, and alcoholic, and they have turned to interventionist Candy for help.
Kristine has major health problems like a blood clot in her brain and recently news of leukemia, yet alcohol is a daily part of her life. With the heavy burden of medical problems, Kristine feels hopeless and figures drinking will simply ease the process of death. Can an intervention work in this case? If the disease is terminal, is an intervention even the answer?
Shane's musical aspirations are being ruined by his abuse of prescription medications (OxyContin). He even deals the drugs out of his family's home and puts them in danger. Shane's father was a drug addict who died from an overdose, so what will it take for Shane to realize that what he is doing is dangerous to himself and damaging to those around him?
A former boxer fights homelessness and crack addiction for his life.
Ashley started using heroin when her grandfather passed away; her family fears that she will overdose and die.
Amy and her family immigrated to Canada to escape the violence of South Africa; Amy has become anorexic and bulimic.
A mechanic turns to drugs and alcohol following the drug-related deaths of his brother and sister.
See addiction, survival, recovery and redemption through the eyes of Hall of Fame football great Lawrence Taylor and former Miss USA Tara Conner. Lawrence and Tara know all too well that no matter how much glitz and glamour they enjoyed, once crack and cocaine addiction grabbed hold of them, success, fame and money vanished as they were pulled down to rock bottom. In shocking detail, viewers will hear about Lawrence’s and Tara’s lowest of lows and how those devastating lows forever scarred their friends and family. Their journeys through crack and cocaine addiction to ultimate recovery haunt Lawrence Taylor and Tara Conner to this day.
A traumatic childhood event and later health problems trap a man in a cycle of substance abuse.
Every day, Donna, 47, and her son, Josh, 20, cause a storm of drinking, fighting, and chaos in the overcrowded home they share with Donna's sister, mother, and a stable-full of dogs and cats. Raised by alcoholic parents, Donna was exposed to violence and abuse at an early age, and later drank so heavily that she lost custody of her two children. Josh, now an adult, has moved back in with Donna, and they have become drinking buddies. Both mother and son need help desperately to save themselves and to stop the cycle of alcoholism from being passed down to another generation of their family.
Adam was once one of the top skiers in the United States. As a Marine, he served in 15 countries, including Iraq and Afghanistan on terrorist-related missions. But when he came back home from overseas, he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and started drinking. His alcohol abuse is ruining his body.
A charismatic reverend at a wedding chapel, Miriam, 38, is adored by her clients, but suffers inner torment. Sexually abused as a child by someone she trusted, Miriam turned to drugs at a young age, and now she's addicted to P.C.P. Her family has practically given up on her, and she risks losing her daughter's love. Can Miriam's desperate family convince her to get on the plane to treatment?
Andrew was smart, likable and athletic, but now he's just skinny and unregulated. Andrew is addicted to OxyContin, a prescription pain medication and will do anything to get a new supply of drugs. His stealing and constant begging, along with a father that gives in, leaves Andrew's other two brothers going without food sometimes. Andrew's father is in need of help in stopping Andrew before it's too late. Originally started in Season 8. Production code #117 (season 8, episode 17) but the follow-ups required it to air in season 9.
Amber was abused as a child. She began binge eating and became bulimic because she wanted to be popular and beautiful like her older sister. However, Amber got married and had a baby. Everything looks great from the outside, but the she's actually depressed. She drinks heavily and engages in purging. Her family hopes to get her treatment so she can care for her family again.
Once a Hollywood success story, Lorna is now a crack addict. She danced on Soul Train and for the "Ike and Tina Turner Revue" in Las Vegas, then landed a big job at A&M records. But the music industry party scene led to drug addiction, and she even abandoned her three children. Lorna needs to get clean and make amends with her kids before it's too late.
Though he grew up in a close-knit family, Joe has felt lonely and isolated all his life. As a child, he was excluded by his peers and didn't get the affection and acceptance he needed from his father. At age eight, Joe learned "the choking game," in which a person uses his hands to cut off the oxygen supply to his brain to get high. Joe loved the sensation, and secretly choked himself regularly throughout childhood as a way of dealing with his pain. In high school, Joe discovered drugs and alcohol; he began using heroin at 18 and has been addicted for the past six years. Now, living in a motel, he often steals to support his addiction, and he has been arrested and jailed several times for drug possession and theft. He has gone through treatment programs before but has always relapsed soon afterward.
John is a flight attendant who loves his job, but his lifestyle is fueling his alcoholism. When he was a boy, John's parents focused their attention on his "profoundly retarded" brother. His mother blamed herself for the disability and turned her anger towards John. Now John's alcoholism leaves him prone to blackouts and frequent serious injuries, but he denies that anything is wrong. Growing up with an abusive mother, Dionicio turned to crime and drugs as a teen. He became a father, but couldn't handle the pressure of providing for a family. Now he spends his time panhandling and shooting heroin.
When Jason's mother and stepfather had twins, Jason felt abandoned. He dropped out of school and turned to drugs. Now he lives with his grandmother in a retirement community and takes up to 30 mg of Xanax and shoots heroin up to five times a day. After an overdose, Jason had multiple hospitalizations and four grand mal seizures. Worn out from the drama, his family is frustrated with their inability to get Jason to stop using drugs and into treatment. A chef for 15 years, Ryan dreams of running a kitchen in a four-star restaurant. But alcoholism stands in his way. Ryan always felt like the black sheep of the family compared to his successful, police officer brother. His mother supplies him with alcohol so that he doesn't go into withdrawal. But now the family feels that "it's not if we lose him, but when."
Rachel started experimenting with cocaine and meth at 14 and using heroin at 16. She survived on the streets with the help of her boyfriend until he was sent to jail. Can an intervention save her from herself?
Once a football player with a bright future, Darick dropped out of college to get married when his girlfriend got pregnant. When his marriage ended, Darick learned his daughter was not his biological child. Devastated, Darick turned to drugs. Having already lost one family member to addiction, Darick's close-knit family is enabling his habit.
Michelle, a lesbian, has a troubled history of being abandoned by her father and molested by a stranger. She was also ridiculed in middle school. After a relationship ended badly, Michelle turned to heroin and desperately needs an intervention. When Austin's stepfather died from alcoholism, he turned to alcohol himself to numb the pain. But Austin's girlfriend is now pregnant and the partying and binging he is engaging in needs to stop. Austin needs an intervention to become a sober dad and break his family's cycle of alcoholism.
Erin relies on her looks to score drugs, including meth. She abandoned her child and the child's father and continues to engage in a drug-induced party lifestyle. Now her daughter has been sent away and the rest of the family wants to get Erin help now.
Jimmy was raised by an alcoholic father but is now a heroin addict. At 13, he was in a gang which abused drugs. Jimmy also has a son and has tried getting sober in the past, but the pressure from his family in this instance lead to dependence on methadone. Jimmy's mother Joannie is also a methadone addict due to her originally getting on it for lupus treatment. Joannie is also alcoholic and enables her son by paying for his bills and his medicine and also giving Jimmy her own methadone.
As a child, Cassie was abandoned by her mother and raised by her father, who married and divorced several women. Her rebellious behavior led him to send her to a behavior modification camp for teenagers that was run like a prison. She is now addicted to crack and oxycodone, a habit she supports by prostituting herself, and has an infant son whom she hardly ever sees. Cassie's family must try to break through her deep distrust of them and stop her father from enabling her further in order to save her.
Jimbo's addiction to painkillers has already resulted in a devastating injury and a strained relationship with his devoted dad. Unable to stop using he now spends his days snorting drugs and flying into rages that have terrorized his family and community. Can an intervention stop this small-town menace?
Jenna, 28, once a sweet-natured and compassionate young girl, endured a brutal childhood that still haunts her and her siblings. Today she steals and manipulates her family to support her destructive heroin habit. Can Jenna and her siblings overcome their past to work together as a family and get Jenna into treatment?
An ambitious inventor and entrepreneur, Benny once dreamed of becoming a millionaire. But stress, drugs, and alcohol have turned his dream into a nightmare. Worst of all, he is no longer a dependable father to his six-year-old daughter. Benny, now 38 and living with his mother, has seen his relationship with his family reach the breaking point, and only an intervention can save him now.
Once happy-go-lucky, Megan, 25, is now a volatile drug addict who scares her family with her unchecked anger. A child of neglect, Megan is now enabled and financed by her guilt-ridden mother. She spends her days drinking and smoking crack. How will Megan react when confronted by her family in an intervention they believe is needed to save her life?
Jamie abused both drugs and alcohol and at 21 she got sober. However, a fatal overdose that killed her twin sister triggered a relapse. Jamie already has pancreatitis and suicidal tendencies, she needs an intervention fast.
Tiffany, a former beauty queen, has always wanted the family she never had. Now, after ten years of using crystal meth and looking for love in all the wrong places, Tiffany may lose the one thing she values most, her one-year-old daughter. Her family is terrified that they're going to lose Tiffany, and desperately hope that an intervention will save her from her abusive boyfriend and constant drug use.
A talkative, eccentric, antiques collector, Michael, 52, was a military brat who moved with his family all over Europe and the U.S. But what he really wanted was a stable, loving home. After a series of traumatic events, Michael began to do drugs, and now he's a rambling, self-loathing addict. Even worse, his two sons have become his using buddies. Michael needs an intervention to save himself and his children.
We go to the Nexus Recovery Center in Dallas, Tex., to follow the gripping stories of four women who are struggling with both addiction and motherhood.
Scioto County, Ohio, is on the DEA list of top 10 places for prescription pill trafficking. The county has seen a 360 percent increase in fatal drug overdoses, with nine of every ten of those deaths attributable to prescription painkillers. Dealers gets their pills from "pill mills," cash-only clinics that dispense prescription painkillers in mass quantities. We show how prescription drugs, especially "Hillbilly Heroin," the street name for Oxycodone, are devastating the region, and take viewers inside the pill mills with undercover cameras to expose the deadly business.
Heroin abuse in Chicago, especially along a specific area of the Eisenhower Expressway, is examined by focusing on the stories of four people struggling with addiction. Learn how “Heroin Highway” came to be and how people like Kesha, who is newly sober, are trying to pick up the pieces of their lives wrecked by heroin. You will also meet Josh, a man checking into detox yet again to fight his addition, and Matt, who hopes to stay clean while waiting for a bed in a halfway house.
Brittany once dreamed of becoming a police officer to protect people from the traumas that she faced as a child. But at 22, her goal is slipping away. She's a heroin addict who sells her body to get her next high. Can Brittany's family convince her that it's not too late to get help?
Like Romeo and Juliet on heroin, Mikeal and Sarah are a poor boy and a rich girl who have found sanctuary in each other's pain. Sarah's family feels that Mikeal has corrupted their daughter, taking Sarah from a casual pill abuser to a full-blown heroin addict. But now both families now agree that an intervention is their only hope. Will Sarah and Mikeal get help, or help each other tumble deeper into addiction?
Eddie, an All-American baseball player in college with offers to play in the majors, was pursuing two master's degrees but school pressure and his father's overbearing expectations pushed Eddie to drink and gamble heavily. His addictions have left him divorced, homeless, and in legal trouble due to five DUI charges. Can an intervention save this once perfect son and hometown hero from self-destruction?
A mother of three, Latisha will go to any lengths to feed her crack addiction, including prostitution. Having been abandoned by her own parents because of their addictions, she's happy with her life and just wants her family to get off her back, but the needs of her young daughter Tuesday are going unmet. There's only one way to save Latisha from her herself--an intervention.
Growing up with parents who demanded hard work, Larry rebelled with a life of crime. Today, he drinks a fifth of brandy a day even though he's a spiritual man whose religion prohibits alcohol. Megan is struggling with her own demons. Her mother divorced and remarried, but Megan never felt included in her new family. She became an addict and even turned to prostitution to pay for her drugs. Can an intervention save Larry from being ostracized by his spiritual community, and can Megan still realize the dreams she once had of becoming a lawyer or professor?
Living in a small Hawaiian village, Penny-Lee has an infectious laugh and loves to have fun. But despite having a good family life and four children to be proud of, she's an out-of-control alcoholic who spends most of her time alone, screaming and crying out to no one as she downs beer after beer. An intervention is her family's last hope for their beloved family matriarch.
Luke, 23, dreams of a career in photojournalism, but his daily cocktail of drugs has derailed his college plans and left both him and his mother struggling to survive on the streets of San Francisco. Shantel uses OxyContin to cope with learning and mood disorders and to find friends in the drug culture. An overprotective mother provides her with money, and now Shantel, who faces potential jail time for a robbery, spends her days feeding her addiction in a motel. Without interventions, Luke and Shantel will continue to see their lives spiral downwards.
Tiffany, 24, a former athlete and cheerleader who dreamed of a career in the medical field, has no intention of giving up her IV crystal meth addiction, despite the fact that her four-year-old son is being cared for by her family. Can an intervention help Tiffany to regain her son and her life?
Brittney saw her food addiction transformed into a raging alcohol addiction after gastric bypass surgery. Now she stands to lose her family as they grow weary of her alcohol-fueled antics. Ricardo, is a dedicated dad of three on weekends, but suffers from a daily addiction to meth which threatens to destroy his health, professional success, and relationship with his children. Brittney's and Ricardo's families have been pushed to the brink, and now realize that only an intervention can save their loved ones.
Michelle, 30, looks like an aging mother of two who takes a daily concoction of methadone, Xanax, and blood pressure pills to keep her identity as an edgy party girl alive, while her family begs her to wake up to the harm that her addiction has caused them. Now the family has had enough, and they're finally ready to confront Michelle at an intervention.
A college graduate who now works as a genealogist, Jeff can't give up his 30-cans-of-beer-per-day habit even though his health is failing, he recently lost his wife, and his children are struggling to cope with the loss of their mother. Now Jeff faces a choice, his life or his beer. Can an intervention bring him to his senses?
Jeanna conquered generations of addiction until the murder of her four-year-old son sent her spiraling into a $100-a-day meth addiction. An intervention is the only way to help Jeanna start to heal her troubled soul.
Growing up, Christina had to shuttle back and forth between her drug-addicted mother and neglectful father. Having never received the support she desperately craved, Christina turned to drugs at an early age. Now prescription painkillers and meth have taken over her life, and she's repeated her mother's mistake by losing custody of her son. Only an intervention can free Christina from the devastating cycle of addiction that grips her.
Strikingly beautiful with a great sense of humor, Dallas is nevertheless addicted to heroin and lives on the streets. After her mother attempted suicide, Dallas turned to drugs to deal with the confusion and pain. Now, Dallas' mother is in denial about her daughter's addiction and even supports her "heroin-chic" lifestyle. Dallas' family needs to wake-up and face her problems head-on if they're going to save her.
A 34-year-old gay man, Richard grew up knowing he was different and never feeling accepted. His stepfather disciplined him severely for his effeminate behavior. Today, Richard lives in subsidized housing and has done everything from dealing to prostituting himself to support his meth addiction. Richard's family will have to make amends to him if they hope to get through to him.
To the outside world, Kimberly lives a dream life in an extravagant mansion without a financial care in the world. But the "dream" is really a nightmare because Kimberly is an alcoholic with no limits. She lives with her boyfriend, who has locked her in a bedroom in an effort to stop her from drinking. Kimberly's father has written her off, but the family must come together or Kimberly will continue to drown her pain in alcohol.
Once a supermom who took her kids to soccer practice and kept a spotless home, Suzon's life spiraled out of control. Now she lives with her new boyfriend, collects scrap metal, and sells prescription drugs to pay for crack. Suzon needs an intervention, but her mother threatens to hijack the process with her old resentments. Can mom put aside her agenda and help save her daughter?
Neglected as a child by her alcoholic mother, Dorothy is now lost in a haze of drugs, alcohol, and self-inflicted cuts and burns. Ivan was once a rising rap star who got caught up in the "thug life" and PCP addiction. Both need interventions to reclaim the promise of their youth and talent.
Once a successful, outstanding student, Zeinah turned to drugs to deal with the drama-filled divorce between her Christian mother and Muslim father. After her husband overdosed, her drug use increased, and she lost custody of her daughter. Can Zeinah's family forget their grudges and religious differences to come together and save her from her prescription pill death spiral?
When Skyler was a kid, his mother pushed him to do modeling and TV work, but the tension drove Skyler to drugs. Now he uses the new synthetic drug "bath salts," which cause him to hallucinate. Can an intervention save Skyler's sanity--and his life? Jessa's meth and alcohol addiction have caused her to hole up in the her parents' basement, drinking and using drugs until she blacks out, punches walls, and even attempts suicide. An intervention is desperately needed before Jessa overdoses and dies right under her parents' noses.
Now 40, Julie has often turned to food and alcohol to find comfort in tough times. She had gastric bypass surgery when her weight ballooned, but now she spends her son's child support money on beer and 90-proof peppermint schnapps. She has a failing liver and constant blackouts, often waking up in strangers' beds. Julie needs an intervention before she loses her family--and her life.
Nicknamed the "junkie princess" by her drug-abusing friends, Courtney, 20, injects heroin up to eight times a day and prostitutes herself to finance her own and her boyfriend's addiction. But now Courtney's mother, sister, and grandmother are planning an intervention in one last-ditch attempt to convince her to leave her boyfriend and accept treatment.
Sean was once a popular DJ and charismatic crowd-pleaser, but now he's rapidly going downhill due to his extreme alcoholism. Sean struggled as a child, growing up in a rough neighborhood with an openly gay father. Today, he spends his days and nights drinking himself to death. He desperately needs an intervention before he loses his family and his life
As a child, Kaylene was physically abused by her father. Later, she and her mother began using coke together. Now Kaylene is a 21-year-old who oozes sweetness and charm but who is unafraid to die and will stop at nothing to get her next fix. After so many years of neglect, can Kaylene's family finally step up and help her get the live-saving treatment she so desperately needs?
Once a stunning model and devoted mother, Terry binges on vodka every day to escape her mother's taunts and her father's neglect. She ignores her doctor's warning that she will be dead in six months if she doesn't stop drinking. Leon, a 25-year-old Russian-Jewish immigrant and former cello prodigy, smokes PCP to escape from the feelings of disappointment and failure that plague him. Both Terry and Leon have one last chance--an intervention.
In the Season 13 premiere, Nichole, 25, has constant tremors due to a severe alcohol addiction as she struggles to overcome the pain of her sister's betrayal.
Elena, 63, has no intentions of stopping her daily meth addiction, even though her children and grandchildren desperately want their adoring grandmother to get well.
Twenty-five year-old Katie uses her eating disorder and binge drinking to cope with her mother's secret alcoholism and parents war with each other while her worried siblings pray someone can step in and save them all.
Once a big-hearted Christian family man, Dennis uses his meth and alcohol addiction to run from the past that haunts him, while his family falls apart.
Former "Super Mom" to her three children, Diana has exchanged her apron for an alcohol and meth addiction and is unraveling her marriage, family and sense of self-respect.
A family begging her to get help and two overdoses in the last two weeks don t phase 21-year-old Britney as she fearlessly shoots up suboxone and bath salts up to 30 times a day. Terry, 32, is a chef who dreamed of opening and managing his own restaurant, but his career, marriage and parental rights to his nine-year-old daughter have hit a dead end as a result of his $500 a day cocaine and fentanyl addiction.
Thirty-one year-old Amanda has exchanged her dreams of teaching for an alcohol and crack addiction, while her family erupts in anger over her dad's chronic enabling.
Attractive, charismatic 41year-old twins, Susie and Miriam, battle crack and alcohol addictions and each other as their career success and families slowly slip away.
Ryan, 25, is a sweet, sensitive man whose alcohol addiction is spiraling out of control as he and his fiance are expecting their first child in a matter of months.
Loud and spunky 50 year-old Cher's alcohol addiction has led to liver damage and is driving a wedge between herself and her family.
Al, a big guy with a big personality, is sacrificing his relationships with his wife and children to chase his out-of-control meth and painkiller addiction.
Megan is a 24-year-old addict who turned to drugs to kill the excruciating pain she experienced as a young teen after her innocence was stolen by her mother's boyfriend. Today, Megan's life is at a critical point and she is facing a long stint in prison with her next mistake.
Kelly, a 27-year-old mother of three, mixes pills and meth to forget the man who destroyed her childhood.
Nick, 23, uses his business talents to deal in heroin rather than business. Once the apple of his father's eye and destined to carry on his successful business practices, Nick's early rule-breaking and experimentation in drugs landed him as the black sheep of the family. Now abandoned by his family, Nick lives in a heroin daze, crossing the border into Mexico to get his next fix.
Sandi, 64, is a vivacious, spunky and fun grandmother who loves gardening. But as her drinking escalates throughout the day, Sandi turns her gin-fueled anger on her 88-year-old mother and her 45-year-old daughter, alienating everyone in her wake. Can Sandi make peace with her estranged family and get the help she needs before it's too late?
Charismatic businessman, spiritual leader and father, 56-year-old Terry is destroying his legacy with his crack addiction and taking his adoring son down with him. Alissa, 19 is a smart and fearless teenager who uses bath salts to mask her inner pain. Alissa must make peace with her estranged father in order to break free from her dangerous lifestyle and her self-destructive cycle.
When her rock and best friend, her grandmother Elena, went away to treatment, Sarah, 21, spiraled out of control. Today, in denial of her own addiction, Sarah is on the same path of addiction her grandmother was on just six months ago. This cycle of addiction must stop in this family now, or unfortunately, Elena will pass on a legacy of addiction instead of recovery.
Tiffany is a 19-year-old, doe-eyed, innocent looking young woman who treks to the seediest parts of Baltimore to score heroin while her family tries to pray the "devil" out of her.
A gregarious man with an intense personality, 32 year-old Sean's alcohol addiction is causing him to blackout and suffer seizures, which have his wife and family on edge.
In an Intervention first that reveals a surprising outcome, we reach out to 18-year-old Andrew who once dreamed of a military career, but now binges and purges up to 12 times a day.
Jessica is smart as tack with a lust for life. Unfortunately, it's the life of a heroin addict, living in an abandoned building, being shot up by a boyfriend, that she is committed to. Having spent her youth yearning for an absent, alcoholic father, Jessica followed the footprint of addiction left to her by her father, and now her own children are at risk of loosing their mother.
Once a vibrant supermom, Dana numbs the haunting memories of almost dying in an apartment fire with a dangerous cocktail of crack and prescription pills.
As a teenager, Ryan was on the fast track to professional BMX racing until his mother's suicide attempt sidelined his life. Ryan turned to drugs to deal with the trauma and silence around it. Now, at 23, he lives in his parents basement using and dealing heroin, enabled by his parents' inability to face or confront reality.
Gina has spent her life living in the shadow of her domineering Korean mother, and it was not until she started using heroin that she was able to escape the most painful of her memories, being blamed by her mother for having been raped. Now, with absolutely no sense of self-worth, Gina will do anything to get her fix, even at the cost of losing her son. As a young girl, Kaila, 19, was raised in an affluent, image-conscious community where she felt teased for being overweight, and overlooked by her parents. Now, at a mere 80 pounds and eating only a few hundred calories a day, Kaila is literally starving herself to death to have what she's always wanted--to be the center of her family's attention.
Eric, 31, has been known by his family for being funny, generous and full of life. But his downward spiral into addiction has replaced all of his amazing traits and turned him into a junkie who hustles, steals and pawns to scrape together enough money for his fix. His addiction has taken a tremendous toll on his family, especially his father, who feels responsible for Eric's addiction. Can Eric's family intervene in time to save them both?
As a child, Tammy, 26, was forced to look after her younger sisters when her parents would disappear for days on drug binges. A daddy’s girl, she has followed in her father’s footsteps, spending her days in crack houses, where she regularly descends into a world of drugs and danger. After protecting her little sisters from the hell that was their life, they have now come together in a heartbreaking attempt to save hers.
At the age of 16, Holley witnessed her mother cheating on the father she adored. The strain between mother and daughter never eased and Holley, now 28, acted out through raging alcohol and cocaine abuse. An important member of a loving extended family, Holley’s relatives watched in horror as she gave birth to and raised three children in the dangerous fog of addiction. Her family must now act -- to save the children from their mother, and their mother from almost certain death.
Born addicted to opiates, Aimee, 25, is caught in the same cycle of addiction that took her mother’s life when Aimee was a little girl. Suffering through a childhood of neglect and a string of abusive boyfriends, Aimee’s feelings of worthlessness have led her to a serious fentanyl addiction and a life on the street soliciting men to pay for her habit. Her father, who lives in fear that he will have to bury his daughter as he did her mother, makes one final desperate bid to save her life.
From an early age Andrew’s life was rife with abuse, neglect, and tragedy. His father, an addict, left the family when Andrew was a baby. Struggling to raise two children on her own, Andrew’s mother worked as an escort, and turned to crack cocaine and alcohol as a means of coping with the emotional and physical abuse meted out by the men in her life. It was a coping mechanism Andrew would emulate as a teenager. When a surrogate father figure was killed in a car accident, Andrew began to spiral. Now, at the age of 22, he is attempting to finish a college degree while on a rampage of crack and alcohol that has him sleeping behind dumpsters and being rushed to the emergency rooms of Windsor, Ontario. Both mother and son need to break free of this dangerous cycle and repair their toxic relationship before Andrew is lost forever. Interventionist: Maureen Brine
Candace is a 23-year-old mother who is addicted to cocaine and opiates. Raised in Northern Ontario by a single mother also struggling with addiction, Candace grew up immersed in the drug culture. When she was 14, her father, whom she adored, died suddenly just as she was preparing to move in with him. The devastating loss triggered an extended binge of substance abuse, which included using opiates with her mother while still in her teens. As her grandparents care for her young daughter, Candace continues to spin out of control on a combination of cocaine and morphine in the company of the drug-addicted father of her child. Candace’s addiction has destroyed her ability to be a mother. Her family believes an intervention is the only way to get her back and secure a future for her young daughter. Interventionist: Andrew Galloway
TJ, 38, is a woman living a double life. She alternates between Terry Lynn, a mother of three living a normal domestic life with her husband, Jamie, in the suburbs of Ottawa and TJ, an erratic drug addicted rock singer. Her addiction to crack cocaine has cost her band a record deal, and her family a mother they can count on. A thrill seeker at heart, TJ uses cocaine as a crutch to escape the daily grind. She disappears on binges lasting up to four months, leaving her music and family behind in search of more thrills and more drugs. TJ needs an intervention, not only to bring her back to her friends and family, but to save her from herself. Interventionist: Andrew Galloway
Jessica is a self-proclaimed party girl with a serious addiction to heroin. Having never dealt with the sexual abuse she suffered as a child, Jessica has been partying since she was 14. Now 22, she spends her days on methadone to stave off withdrawals, and nights injecting heroin, smoking crack and partying with men twice her age. With an alcoholic but well-meaning father who is unable to let his little girl go, and a mother who spoils her rotten, this family needs a serious wake-up call before they lose Jessica forever.
Raised by an alcoholic single mother, Travis, 20, and his sister were moved around the country after their abusive father left the household. When Travis was 15, his sister, with whom he had a strong bond, was gang raped at a party. A year later, he discovered her hanging by the neck in their home. Racked with guilt and devastated by the loss, Travis has spiraled out of control in a ceaseless sea of partying, gambling and alcohol. His mother, several years sober but clearly still suffering from her loss, now fights to save her only remaining child.
With a past that includes a father who abandoned her, multiple sexual assaults, and a stepbrother who died from a heroin overdose, Loren, 26, has turned to alcohol to numb her pain. She drinks up to three liters of wine a day and suffers from seizures, black outs, and violent mood swings. A year ago, Loren entered treatment where she met her girlfriend, Christy (35). The two have been joined at the hip--and bottle--ever since. Christy is near death, and her body is shutting down after years of alcohol and prescription drug abuse. She is tortured by the thought of leaving her two children without a mother when she dies. Two families who have never met join forces to attempt a high-stakes double intervention in a last ditch effort to save their lives.
Wes and Lise have been together since their teens. Both products of traumatic childhoods, they bonded over a mutual interest in marijuana and other recreational drugs. But they were functional, with Wes earning money as a roofer to keep their two young sons in food and shelter. When, at age 30, Wes discovered crack and brought it home to Lise, their happy home turned to chaos. Hopelessly ensnared by their addictions, the couple’s focus shifted from caring for their children to finding and using that next rock. Deeply concerned for the children’s welfare, Wes’s sister Carrie makes one last attempt to save the family.
The daughter of a professional escort and a serial workaholic, Allisha began to develop body image issues at an early age. A bulimic who didn’t purge, but rather shed calories through compulsive and extreme workouts, Allisha soon found herself displaying her hard body in local strip clubs. Pain from dancing led to severe abuse of alcohol and opiates. Now she is impossibly addicted to injecting Dilaudid and must play multiple men to pay for her habit. For the first time in years, her family has come together in one final effort to save her life.
The son of an alcoholic father and a mother who suffered from depression, Ziggi grew up ‘odd’ and was alienated in the schoolyard. His sensitive, artistic temperament drew the love of a beautiful woman and they had two children together. But that same tortured soul also led him to a severe addiction to crystal meth and GHB. Unable to give it up, Ziggi has lost the girl and is living couch to couch. Without an intervention, his children will be lost to him forever.
A talented dancer, Lyndsay won many awards and was accepted into a prestigious arts school as a child. But in her early teens, her father's suicide triggered a spiral that she is still lost in. After being prescribed oxycontin for anxiety in her late teens, Lyndsay is now injecting over 1000mg of oxy a day. Living at home with her mother, stepfather, and 12-year-old sister, her life is completely run by the constant need for more pills and all her family can do is watch helplessly from the sidelines. Without an intervention, there is tragedy in this family’s future.
Jamie is a crack addict whose struggles began when his family moved from a small rural community in Ontario to Calgary, Alberta. When he was 12, he fell in with the wrong crowd and started disappearing for days at a time. He began stealing from his parents to buy alcohol, a habit that eventually led to stealing liquor to sell in the street. His alcohol addiction escalated to crack, opiates, and just about anything he could get his hands on. Now 26, Jamie is estranged from his entire family, and has trouble towing the line in the shelters he sometimes calls home. He wanders the streets and parks of Oshawa, Ontario, a solitary figure in search of his next fix. Meanwhile, he has a four-year-old daughter he has never met. Without an intervention he will likely not see 35, and more importantly, will have no chance of giving his daughter the father she deserves. Interventionist: Andrew Galloway
Raised by two hard-partying parents, Sarah, 32, began using drugs as a teen. When her parents divorced, her drug use escalated and continued through failed relationships with three different men with whom she had children. Now, she has lost custody of all three and her family must help raise them while Sarah spirals into a dangerous dependence on hyrdromorphone, speed, cocaine and morphine. Without an intervention Sarah’s family fears she is one needle away from an early grave.
The victim of serial abuse at the hands of a male family friend, Meghan endured a tortured childhood compounded by the fact her mother was too depressed to raise her. When she became too old to stay in the foster home that became her only happy refuge, Meghan found herself on the streets. Now 20, she seeks to ease the pain through her music, poetry and a 4-points-a-day heroin habit. Without an intervention, this artist will die before anyone truly hears her song.
With a University degree in science, Katie is an intelligent young woman with a dangerous addiction to opiates. Raised by her mother after her alcoholic father left home, Katie refused to live in poverty and sued both parents for child support at the age of 16. The scars never healed between her and her mother who fight every day. Now 24, Katie is addicted to injecting Dilaudid. To protect her habit, she has burned her bridges with almost everyone she knows. Her mother is all she has left and, without a successful intervention, even she is prepared to walk away.
At 27, Wesley is a veteran of crystal meth use. He has been using since he was 17, and has been dealing meth and other drugs for most of his 20’s. He goes days without sleep, and lives a lifestyle that is one long party. Consumed by guilt over the death of his best friend on crystal meth when Wes was 17, and devastated by the loss of his father whose funeral he couldn’t even attend because of a stretch in jail, Wes has chosen to make a living off the drug that has made his life a nightmare. Knowing he is one bad choice away from a decision that could end his life, Wes’s family intervene in an attempt to get their son back. Interventionist: Samuel Waldner
David, 32, has barely known a life that didn’t include addiction. His mother was a cocaine addict and his father, who struggled with alcoholism, died at an early age when David was a child. Once a provincial Taekwondo champion, family tragedy, including the death of his stepfather by overdose, has led David to a dangerous addiction to heroin and crystal meth. While his mother and much of his family have been in recovery for years, without an intervention, David is destined to be the next family casualty.
Suffering from a severe eating disorder, depression and suicidal tendencies, Cassandra is a young woman who has lost her way. Growing up, she felt out of control and neglected - constantly left alone while her parents’ volatile relationship slowly disintegrated. Bullied by her peers for being ‘chunky’, Cassie struggled in school as well. Depressed and angry, she began bingeing and purging in an effort to control her body and her environment. Now, at 18, Cassie purges up to 15 times a day and takes anywhere from 10 to 30 laxatives. Close to death, Cassandra needs a lifeline before her family loses their young daughter to this dangerous disease. Interventionist: Maureen Brine
With four children, a long career working for a ferry company in British Columbia, and a successful import/export business, John, 50, had it all. Five years ago, exhausted from the stress of a failing marriage and juggling two careers, he smoked crack cocaine for the first time and watched his world begin to fall apart. Now also addicted to heroin, John lives mostly on the street, while his family live in fear of the phone call that will deliver their worst nightmare. Devastated by the loss of the man that was once the lifeblood of their family, John’s mother, sister and grown sons attempt to pull John out of the abyss of his addictions. Interventionist: James Dunn
Brad, 50, lives in a converted tractor-trailer and sells scrap metal for cash. He is also severely addicted to crack. Growing up in a rural town in New Brunswick, Brad was extremely skilled with his hands, and ended up constructing the home he lived in with his ex-wife. After moving to Ontario and starting a family, his life took a dangerous turn. Brad was badly electrocuted on a routine job cutting down a tree. The injury was life changing, and Brad lost everything. Defeated, he turned to crack cocaine. Brad has been smoking crack for the past 20 years and his daughter, now 26 and starting a life of her own, is fighting to get him back. Interventionist: Andrew Galloway
The show celebrates its 10th anniversary with the cast and crew sharing their highest highs and lowest lows of dealing with drug addiction; and they provide behind-the-scenes stories of what it takes to get people the help they need.
Smart and outgoing, Katie was the star of the family--she traveled the world as an elite Irish dancer. She could have made it her career--but she got derailed into a life of partying and drugs that has led her down a dangerous path of cocaine and heroin addiction. Katie is now a shell of her former self. She lives with her boyfriend who deals drugs and supplies her with a weekly $2,000 fix. Although Katie's addiction has devastated her family, they unite for one last chance to save her. But Katie puts everything in jeopardy when she attempts to shut down the documentary before the intervention can take place.
Mike lost his brother to cancer and his sister to suicide. This triggered a tragic downward spiral. Mike's nightly habit of having a few beers quickly turned into raging alcoholism. Mike agreed to give up drinking. Unfortunately, he replaced alcohol with heroin. At 14, Lauren was forced to become caretaker to her ill father. By 18, she was a mother herself. Seven years and three kids later, Lauren's father died and she turned to pills to cope.
24-year-old Samantha was a soccer prodigy at age 12, but when a close relative developed an inappropriate relationship with her 12-year-old teammate, it crushed her and her family. Soon afterwards, Samantha was sexually assaulted and introduced to drugs, triggering a downward spiral that led her to heroin and prostitution.
While still a child, Zach's father was incarcerated, and Zach and his sister were adopted by their loving grandparents. When Zach's father was released from jail he moved in with the grandparents, hoping for a fresh start. It didn't take long for his father to fall off the wagon, and in fact, it was Zach's father who first introduced Zach to heroin. Using, but still functional, Zach met his girlfriend Whitney, and two years ago, she had their son. Today Zach's cocaine and heroin addiction is out of control. Whitney has turned to Intervention for help. Theresa swore she wouldn't end up like her mother who was a raging alcoholic. However, years later after several failed relationships and children, Theresa finds herself drinking uncontrollably--to the point that even cirrhosis of the liver isn't enough to make her stop. Her daughter says she's at rock bottom, close to death, and her family knows that an intervention is their last hope.
A once-promising artist and songwriter turns to alcohol and meth to help him cope with a series of personal tragedies.
A once-outdoing child is scarred by family upheaval and a sexual assault, leading her to become a party girl and full-blown heroin addict.
Worried family members attempt to prevent a meth addict from suffering the same fate as her late sister-in-law; another meth addict loses her home and custody of her children.
A singer/songwriter's addiction to alcohol and synthetic marijuana leads to erratic behavior.
Hailing from a small seaside town in Nova Scotia, Barry, 50, was born into a life of alcoholism and turmoil. The victim of childhood abuse at the hands of a close relative, Barry learned to drink with his alcoholic mother as a boy. Both were seeking a way to kill the pain. A gentle giant when sober, but violent and verbally abusive when spiraling on 40 ounces of vodka a day, Barry has alienated just about everyone in his life, including his father, whom he adores, and his 27-year-old son who has cut off all contact. Living day-to-day in run-down motels and struggling to put together a living between binges, Barry has a chance to reclaim his life, his family, and a relationship with his son who has shut him out of his life.
An Alberta prairie boy, Kent, 37, watched his father come home every day to a case of beer. Good at hockey, Kent's life took a turn when a hereditary blood disease stopped him in his tracks. To fill the void, and to block out the untreated trauma of a sexual assault, Kent turned to a 17-beer-a-day habit. Now the home he shares with his girlfriend, Nicki, and their three children is a battleground of verbal abuse and shame. Nicki gives Kent a final ultimatum: clean up or lose your family for good.
From the outside, Conrad, 20, leads a picture-perfect life. He lives in his parent's lakeside home in Huntsville, Ontario, while they cater to his every need. Unfortunately, this family's reality is far from ideal. Conrad was alienated when he was young because of ADHD and tourettes, and instead of friends, used extreme sports to fill the void. As he got older and the adrenaline wore off, Conrad turned to Oxycodone as his escape. Now, dependent on pills and full of rage, Conrad battles with his parents in a house that's slowly suffocating them all. Afraid for their son and trying desperately to hold onto their own relationship, Conrad's parents finally deliver the ultimatum that might save his life.
Tracy, 48, was born into a family rampant with alcoholism and abuse. With little parental oversight, she tried her first beer at the age of 11, and loved the feeling from the first sip. Although she excelled in gymnastics and other school endeavors, the seed of her undoing had been sown. When she hooked up with the father of her three children, Tracy fell heavily into a pattern of drinking and domestic chaos. After repeated visits to her home by police, her girls were put into foster homes where they watched from afar as their mother slowly imploded. Though deeply hurt by their mother putting alcohol before them, Tracy’s daughters set their resentment aside and make one last attempt to save the mother they never had. Interventionist: Maureen Brine
David, 29, is nothing less than a miracle. At the age of 18 he contracted leukemia and underwent a dangerous bone marrow transplant that he survived. Prescribed painkillers to cope with his treatment, David became addicted and now, a decade later, consumes massive amounts of Oxycodone. He uses up to 1200 mg a day, which he injects or snorts. Trading one kind of sick for another, David’s erratic, angry and manipulative behaviour has cost him every friend he ever had. His lonely existence is punctuated only by the presence of his mother, and the ever-present need to secure more oxy. Having fought the battle to save his life from cancer, David now is watching his addiction take it away. Interventionist: Andrew Galloway
When a drug test came back positive, Matthew lost custody of his son and went from part-time user to full-blown addict, huffing ten cans of computer duster a day. Olivia was repeatedly molested by a relative at age 11. Successive traumas into adulthood have led her to mask her emotional pain by injecting a dangerous combination of heroin and meth.
Amanda’s world was thrown into a tailspin when her husband went missing for months. When his body was finally found, the victim of a high profile murder, she went off the deep end and found escape in drugs. Now her children are in state custody and she’s shooting heroin to cope. When James first tried meth, he’d thought he’d found a wonder drug to give him the energy for a demanding job, marriage, and fatherhood. But the resulting addiction and spiral took all of those things away from him. Now his ex-wife is trying to save his life so their sons will have a chance to know their father.
A man from a family of professional baseball players seeks comfort in alcohol and meth, and soon finds himself dumpster diving and sleeping on the streets.
A former rock 'n' roll groupie turns tricks to support her $1,700-a-week addiction to painkillers; a man turns to heroin to escape the memories of teenage traumas.
Justin got hooked on prescription opiates after he was run over by a truck; after his mother's death, Kayne turned to drugs to cope, which eventually cost him his marriage and the custody of his children.
A musically gifted and intelligent woman numbs the pain of sexual abuse by self-medicating with alcohol and opiates.
A former honors student who hoped to study journalism in college instead turns to drugs and suffers a psychotic break after a smooth talker charms his way into her mother's life and gambles away the family home.
A millionaire business woman gets help after being stuck in a binge drinking spiral that began with the loss of an infant child to SIDS and saw her lose her marriage, relationships with her other children and her fortune.
Digger and Anne are husband and wife–and both are addicted to heroin. Intervening on addicted couples is incredibly difficult; and Digger and Anne’s situation is complicated further by other addicts in the family. Their three young children are in danger of losing both parents if the couple does not get help soon.
Karissa was always a talented cook--so much so, that her mother had one day hoped to pass the family diner down to her as a legacy. But Karissa's life took a drastic turn when a close family friend fed her Oxycodone, and then ultimately made her a drug courier. From there Karissa was lost. Now, years of self-abuse, self-medication and a severe addiction to heroin have left her volatile and desperate. Her family fears that if she does not heal from her violent past and the childhood she lost, she will never have the future she deserves. Sylvia Parsons is Karissa's Interventionist.
Brothers Daniel and Robert were on the road to success. Daniel was headed for a career with the NY Yankees and Robert was an aspiring civil engineer. Injury ended a once bright career for Daniel who slid into using pain pills and then heroin to cope. The constant insecurity of living in his younger brother's shadow lead Robert down the same path. Now the brothers spend their days injecting up to 21 bags of heroin per day--each. It is only a matter of time before this family loses both boys.
Ginjer is a professional Sugar Baby who trolls "dating" websites to maintain a severe Dilaudid addiction. Once a top contender to become a Naval Officer, Ginjer has fallen so far that she juggles "men who pay" to keep the drugs flowing. Ginjer's family is desperate, fearing she is on the fast track to an early death.
A paranormal expert gets help after turning to vodka, pain meds and opiates to cope with encounters.
A young woman becomes addicted to heroin and Xanax after reconnecting with her biological father.
A man suffers from alcoholism following the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
A woman battles meth and suboxone addiction following the sudden passing of her boyfriend.
An investigation into the nation's growing heroin epidemic focuses on the wealthy suburbs of St. Louis, where the scourge of drug addiction affects the least expected.
Rob was already a successful business owner when he inherited over a million dollars and several valuable properties from his father. But after his father's recent death, Rob, a former crack addict, picked up the pipe again after years of sobriety. In just 12 months, Rob has blown through 200k of his inheritance, has shut down his once thriving business, and now his wife and family fear for his life.
A woman abuses heroin and meth due to several traumatic events, including sexual assault and divorce, and her family fear her life is in imminent danger and that her habits have spread to other family members.
A young woman becomes trapped in huffing addiction after a move to the big city, with a sexual assault the root of her addiction.
A man bullied as a youth battles addiction after turning to drugs to fit in.
A college student turns to alcohol when coping with survivor's guilt.
Coined “five-dollar insanity,” in 2014, a powerful new street drug called “Flakka,” flooded the streets of South Florida. Over the next year, this highly-addictive drug would cause its users to exhibit extreme, often public, acts of erratic behavior and symptoms of dementia and psychosis. Broward County alone experienced more than 60 deaths to date and received several Flakka-related emergency response calls each day. We’ll follow the story of current and recovering Flakka users as they struggle with addiction and the lingering effects of their drug use.
The DEA has called it a “poison”, the NYPD police commissioner called it “weaponized”, and until a few years ago, it was available over the counter and was the second most abused drug among high school students after pot. What is this mystery drug that has parents, law enforcement and medical experts on high alert? The drug is Spice, also known as synthetic marijuana, K2, Moon Rocks and Black Mamba. We take an unflinching look at a drug that is wreaking havoc in communities across the country.
A young mother’s eating disorder has been a life-long affliction, now compounded by drug and sex addiction–but to get rid of all of her demons she’ll have to eliminate more than just her food.
Katie was a beautiful and successful mortgage broker and drug & alcohol counselor whose pride and joy were her two kids. But a devastating breakup resulted in losing custody, and sent Katie into a downward spiral of heroin and meth addiction. Her face is now ravaged from use, and her veins are so damaged that she resorts to injecting heroin anally, aka “booty bumping.” Katie supports her habit by webcam stripping and prostitution, and her family fears that if she doesn’t get help, the next step will be an OD.
Wealthy entrepreneur loses everything to crack, reducing her life to a never ending cycle of prostitution and begging.
Tiffany had the talent to be a successful graphic designer, but severe complications from the birth of her first child led to an addiction to prescribed pain pills. Then post-partum depression after her second and third pregnancies, resulted in an opiate addiction. After her husband took their three kids and filed for divorce, Tiffany became a full time heroin addict. Today, she has a new husband and baby, but her addiction is threatening to end the marriage, and if she doesn’t get help–her life. Sylvia Parsons is Tiffany’s Interventionist.
Handsome, talented musician’s promising career is sideswiped by crystal meth, plunging him into a life of crime, prostitution, and addiction.
Kristie dreamed of being a museum curator and was getting her masters degree at Johns Hopkins University. But a childhood diagnosis of OCD caused by anxiety, worsened and caused her to drop out of school and begin to self medicate with alcohol. Though she married three years ago, her addiction ultimately spiraled out of control to include a large mix of drugs and huffing. She’s been admitted to the hospital several times this year alone and after her husband divorced her, Kristie hit rock bottom and now her family fears that without help, she will soon die. Ken Seeley is Kristie’s Interventionist.
Bodybuilder’s spiral from steroids to heavy drugs leaves him bankrupt, delusional, and in imminent danger of losing his family. (Canadian produced.)
Sturgill was a promising young golden gloves boxer and wrestler who dreamed of the Olympics. He was also an academically gifted pre-med student. But a broken arm and multiple surgeries led to a pain pill addiction, which soon turned to heroin. Now, Sturgill's drug habit includes a dangerous combination of Methadone, benzos and alcohol. His family fears that he's on the verge of mixing that one fatal dose. Sylvia Parsons is Sturgill's Interventionist.
Five years ago Robby came out to his wife of twenty-nine years and two sons as transgender, exploding their world and Robby’s own in the process. Already a heavy drinker, Robby’s drinking intensified after coming out. Now, terrified of losing her wife, and being alone for the first time in her life, Robby has become a blackout drunk, downing up to forty ounces of vodka a day. Once a fun-loving partier, Robby has become increasingly violent when drunk. The family fears for Robby’s safety as well as their own. Without an intervention, Robby is in danger of losing her family forever. (Canadian produced.)
Jasmine was extremely close to her grandparents, Reg and Pauline, so when Pauline suddenly passed away, Jasmine couldn’t cope and turned to opioids to erase the pain. Amazingly, Jasmine got control of her addiction and her life gained some new additions: a new career, a new boyfriend and a new baby. But when her relationship became abusive, Jasmine descended back into drugs. After losing custody of her three-year-old son, her use escalated to smoking fentanyl, a habit that costs her $1200 a day. As her family readies themselves for the intervention, they get devastating news: Reg has cancer. (Canadian produced.)
In three years, Diana’s alcoholism has gotten so bad that it has led her to being diagnosed with Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome, an alcohol-related brain disorder, which recently landed her in the hospital with temporary paralysis and a feeding tube… which she poured vodka into! Diana’s addiction has destroyed her career, her relationships, and now her health. Her parents know that if she doesn’t get help now, she won’t live to celebrate her 30th birthday. Ken Seeley is Diana’s Interventionist.
Todd was a successful house flipper from a prominent real estate family who was on track to take over the family business, but when the housing market collapsed in 2009, Todd lost everything. Financially busted, Todd moved his wife and daughter into his parents’ home and began to work for them. But two severe construction accidents led him to painkillers and ultimately to dependency. When Todd’s wife divorced him, he shifted to meth and his addiction careened out of control. His close-knit family is devastated as they watch their “Golden Boy” fall apart before their eyes. Donna Chavous is Todd’s Interventionist.
Sweet, adorable and with a shock of blond hair, young Robbie was doted on by his two older sisters, Cara and Kristy. The trio were inseparable. Even as their home life descended into chaos when their mother turned to drugs and prostitution, the three siblings took care of each other. When the situation got worse and they were sent to foster care, they still stuck together. But eventually 11-year-old Robbie would separate from his sisters, escaping foster care to search for his wayward mother. He found her, only to follow her down a heart-breaking path of destructive drug use. Now 28, Robbie's sisters unite to see if there's any chance of saving their little brother and becoming a family again.
Katherine was a bright college student with dreams of becoming a journalist until she was abducted and brutally assaulted. Katherine swiftly spiraled, becoming dependent on a dangerous mix of drugs to mask the trauma. Her parents have already purchased a burial plot for her and are certain that it’s only a matter of time before they bury their only child.
Tanisha was leaving the dream life as an assistant to rap icon, Snoop Dogg. But when her fianc was brutally killed in front of her, grief-stricken, Tanisha turned to her mother, who introduced her to heroin. Tanisha has become a full-time junkie, and her family is terrified that without help, they will lose her.
By the age of 21, Joshua had the world in his hands. A six-figure salary managing a dozen convenient stores, marriage, and owner of his own home, Joshua was a great provider for his wife and her children. But a back surgery in 2010 led to a severe addiction to pain pills that morphed into an extraordinary addiction to hand sanitizer that has cost him everything. Now, his family is petrified that without help, Joshua's his addiction will blind him, cause a massive stroke, or death by organ failure.
Clint, 36, was raised in a tight-knit, middle-class family. His parents expected success for their four children who were all precocious and engaged in school. But in high school, when his siblings had gone off to college, Clint fell in with the wrong crowd and began to struggle. The only graduation he would see was to a life controlled by crystal meth and opioids. At a loss as to where it all went wrong, Clint’s parents have seen their son’s excesses progress to crazy and dangerous levels. Without an intervention, they know he will die.
As a child Melissa endured an unstable and tumultuous upbringing. As a teenager, she found a friend in crack cocaine and began a life of partying and drugs that continued until her son was born. Eager to create a stable life for her child, Melissa went cold turkey and enrolled in nursing school. But the good times did not last long. Melissa fell narrowly short of graduating, and slipped back into a life crack cocaine and heroin abuse. Now, at 32, Melissa sells her body to support her habits and has lost custody of her son. Her family fears that she has nothing left to live for and, without an intervention, will soon be dead.
Austin had everything he could have wanted growing up: the love and support of a close-knit family and an invitation to go to a school for gifted teens. But not wanting to be separated from his pals, Austin turned the offer down in favor of the local high school, a decision that led to a life of partying, and ultimately down the rabbit hole of heroin and fentanyl addiction. Now his family can only watch in horror as Austin wastes his considerable gifts on the relentless pursuit of his addiction.
The only child of a single mother and world-class fiddle player, Alex was surrounded by music from birth. His mother married when Alex was five, but after a few years the marriage deteriorated and life became difficult at home. Friction with his stepfather left Alex increasingly isolated and he turned to the fiddle to try and gain acceptance. Alex's skill developed and he had some early recognition, but living in his mother's musical shadow was difficult and he began to compensate with alcohol as a young teenager. Just as Alex was beginning his professional career, his mother and stepfather divorced. The combination of his family's dysfunction and life spent on the road soon turned his fondness for drink into a debilitating, fall-down addiction. Now in his mid-twenties, Alex's career is at a standstill and his health is rapidly deteriorating. Without an intervention, he could lose his career, his family and his life.
With the birth of her two daughters, Samantha gave up using crystal meth and heroin. But when she began consorting with figures from her druggy past, she fell back into addiction and soon lost custody of her children. Samantha's family are desperate to help her be the good mother she once was, but now she is addicted to fentanyl and her very life hangs in the balance.
Ashley was a child prodigy on the TaeKwonDo octagon, headed for international competition had she stayed the course. But when the haunting memory of childhood molestation caused her to turn to the numbing effects of drugs at the age of 15, her athletic career was pinned to the mat. Now 21, Ashley is deeply addicted to crack cocaine and IV opioids. As she and her girlfriend are evicted from their apartment for their disruptive fights, excessive drug use and partying, her family fears that, without an intervention, Ashley will disappear into the streets forever.
In a collection of affluent suburban communities north of Atlanta called “The Heroin Triangle” the rise of the nation’s opioid crisis, from prescription pills to full-blown heroin epidemic, is documented through city officials, community leaders, and addicts themselves. Tiffany and Billy, a volatile couple living out of their car, receive a sizable tax return that sets them up to score a large of amount of heroin. Their addiction threatens to destroy the family they’re building. As a homeless and gay man, Tracey faces unique challenges as he spends his days hopping busses and hiding out in bathrooms stalls shooting heroin. Zac’s a free-spirit but his musical gifts are undermined by his crippling heroin addiction. Interventionist Heather Hayes enlists the help of her colleague Donna Chavous to further investigate the city’s handling of the epidemic.
The heroin crisis rages on in the idyllic suburbs north of Atlanta, nicknamed "The Heroin Triangle." Interventionist Heather Hayes enlists the help of her colleague Donna Chavous to further investigate the city's handling of the epidemic. Zac's family history of violence and drug abuse threatens to undermine his intervention. And flush with the money from his tax return, Billy and Tiffany purchase heroin and check into a hotel. It's a welcome respite from living in Tiffany's car, until Tiffany disappears.
23-year-old heroin addict Toni finds herself in danger when her pimp sends her out on a call that goes wrong. The Heroin Triangle expands its reach, putting first responders at risk, and increasing police presence in the area. Police Sergeant Josh Liedke reaches out to a young homeless addict and tries to get her into a detox center. 55-year-old Allen finds himself squatting in an abandoned house, having squandered millions from his trust fund to feed his heroin addiction.
Interventionist Michael Gonzales attempts to get Toni's mother, father, and sister on the same page to intervene on Toni, but Carla's belligerent behavior threatens to derail the process before it even begins. We meet Kiersten and David, a young, heroin-addicted couple living in a co-dependent relationship with David's mother, Linda. Kiersten prepares for a mandatory meeting with her probation officer by hiding synthetic urine in her boot, in case of a drug screening.
Catch up on what’s been happening this season on Intervention.
Ken Seeley and Allen’s family try to convince him that treatment is the best option, but police are called to the scene when the situation escalates. 24-year old Taylor dances at a local strip club to finance her heroin habit. David and Kiersten’s relationship comes to a dramatic head when David’s mother loses her patience with Kiersten. 31-year old Angela quits heroin cold turkey, and is now “white knuckling” it through her day while trying to win back custody of her two children. Toni disappears and the search is on to find her before it’s too late.
Taylor's mother makes a disturbing discovery; Angela's frustration with her ex-husband challenges her ability to stay clean; Kiersten attempts to reconcile with her parents, but her heroin use stands in the way.
Angela comes face-to-face with a deadly relapse trigger, forcing Interventionist Ken Seeley to enlist the help of Police Sergeant Josh Liedke so they can quickly intervene. Taylor’s mother, Katherine, has trouble keeping her emotions in check after her daughter’s dangerous lifestyle escalates. Interventionist Donna Chavous is forced to employ tough tactics in her double intervention of Kiersten and David, after their intervention takes an unexpected and dramatic turn.
David and Kiersten’s intervention hits a roadblock when David changes his mind about getting help, and Interventionist Donna Chavous struggles to get him back on board for treatment. Taylor endures a trip to the dentist, who deals with several infected teeth–a painful side effect of Taylor’s drug habit. Then, with the help of Heather Hayes, Taylor’s family intervenes on her. We check in with Toni, Allen, and Angela, to see their progress in recovery. As 90 days in The Heroin Triangle winds down, our interventionists reflect on their time there and share what they’ve learned about the addicts, their families, and the community.
Sam and Brad's families have known each other since Sam and Brad were kids. Brad's sister was Sam's best friend growing up, and Brad's father coached Sam's softball team. Although Sam and Brad always had a crush on each other, it wasn't until they were adults that they finally connected. But when Brad introduced Sam to heroin and the two quickly got married, their drug-fueled codependency became the basis of their relationship. Sam lost custody of her son from a previous relationship and her career as a dental assistant, and recently contracted Hepatitis C. Brad has had multiple overdoses, lost his career, and his daughter from an earlier marriage. Their families are desperate for Sam and Brad to get clean, but are unable to work together as a united front, leaving Brad and Sam to continue on a downward spiral. Now they fear that rock bottom will mean both of their deaths.
A woman stuck in a loveless marriage gradually begins to drink and soon becomes a full-blown alcoholic guzzling up to a gallon of wine a day; despite wrecking three cars and losing her nursing license, Jackie continues to drink.
Abbie was a young mom with dreams of going to college for photography. But she was hiding a dark secret from her family. Her boyfriend, and father of her daughter, had become physically and mentally abusive. The beatings escalated, and Abbie ended up in surgery after a punch to the face shattered bones and required three metal plates. Abbie began drinking excessively to cope with the abuse. Though she finally pressed charges after he threw boiling soup on her, Abbie is now a fullblown alcoholic. Her parents are raising her daughter while Abbie lives nearby with a new boyfriend who enables her addiction. Her alcoholism has gotten so bad that Abbie already has chronic liver, kidney, and bone marrow damage. Without help, Abbie’s family fears that her daughter will lose her mom for good.
At the age of 22, Shiann has already faced a lifetime of pain. The shocking death of her sister, a diagnosis of A.S., a progressive and debilitating disease, and an unexpected divorce, sent this once vivacious fitness model and bodybuilder down a path of meth-fueled binges. With no help in sight, her family fears losing another loved one to an early death.
Adorable and fearless, Jade had an ideal childhood, two loving parents and a passion for horses that led her to competitive show jumping. Jade's world came crashing down around her when, at 10, her father's increasing depression led to her parents' divorce and her father's attempted suicide. Left on her own while her father fell deeper into depression and her mother attempted to rebuild her life, Jade felt abandoned and turned to drugs and alcohol for comfort. Now, at 24, Jade has a severe addiction to prescription opioids and cocaine and suffers from intense suicidal ideations. She has overdosed three times in the past year. Her family are desperately afraid that she will not see her next birthday without a successful intervention.
As a fully committed mom, Sandra was involved in her kids' school activities as well as after school sports. But in 2015, her abuse of prescription pills after an injury led to an opioid and heroin addiction. Within 2 years, this incredible mom has truly fallen from grace. Her family is desperate to get their loving mother back before it's too late. After leaving an abusive marriage, Mallory turned to drugs to cope with the fallout. At 29, she became withdrawn, lost interest in her kids, and turned to meth and heroin to erase her haunting past. Her family is heartbroken, her kids have watched their mom slowly disappear and worry that they may lose her for good.
John and Tom are brothers who spent their formative years working with their parents and grandparents in a successful business. While they appeared to be a close knit, hard-working family, a dark family history of drug abuse entrapped the brothers. Their mother realizes that without help, all could be lost.
Morgan and Brett both battle addiction at the age of 20; despite overcoming early struggles, Brett's addiction spirals when his mother moves them into a new home with her violent boyfriend; Morgan has a 1-year-old daughter and is addicted to heroin.
The interventionists arrive to Philadelphia's Heroin Hub and meet Nicole, a 39-year-old heroin addict and prostitute, who's lived in the area for five years. Also featured is Janine, a 22-year-old addict whose father just died from a fatal overdose weeks earlier.
Interventionist Donna Chavous must re-think Janine's intervention now that she's in jail. Interventionist Jim Reidy meets with Nicole's family and learns how she ended up on the streets. 38-year-old heroin addict Bill finances his addiction by selling clean needles to other addicts. The city of Philadelphia organizes a mass eviction in Kensington to remove addicts from the neighborhood.
Alana is a recovering heroin addict who's trying to stay sober while maintaining a relationship with her addict boyfriend. Nicole's fianc 's reaction to Nicole getting help throws her whole intervention into question. 28-year-old heroin addict Amanda risks losing custody of her 2-year-old son for good if she can't get clean. On the eve of Bill's intervention, his family receives shocking news about Bill.
After Bill's arrest, Interventionist Michael Gonzales strategizes with his family on ways to intervene once he's released from jail. Alana's mother suspects that Alana may have relapsed and kicks her out of her home. Janine is released from jail and must decide if she's ready to get clean. Bill's family intervenes on him outside the courthouse the moment he is released from jail.
Amanda is torn between her jailed addict boyfriend and her ex-boyfriend, an EMT who is still in love with her; EJ's heroin use escalates after his mother's unexpected death; Nicole and Janine reveal updates about where they are in their recoveries.
A recap of the first five episodes of Intervention's special on "The Heroin Hub."
EJ’s lies and deceptions cause a rift in his family, as some continue to enable him while others holds a firm bottom line. Interventionist Ken Seeley intervenes on EJ, who must finally decide if he is ready to accept help and go to treatment. Janine, Nicole, Bill, Alana, Amanda and EJ give final updates about their recoveries and hopes for the future.
A young mother named Melanie battles an addiction to crack cocaine. Without an intervention, Melanie will lose custody of her son, or worse, lose her life.
Robin once overcame a drinking problem to become a successful pilot, but the stress of being away from his wife and children drove him back to booze. It didn't take long before Robin's problem destroyed his career and family. Robin's parents and brothers believe the brilliant pilot is still in there somewhere, but without an intervention, they're fearful that Robin may spiral to a horrible death.
Chelan was a devoted wife and mother until the breakup of her marriage sent her spiraling into the world of prescription opioid abuse; three years later, Chelan is homeless, works as a prostitute and is no longer allowed to see her three little boys.
Nathan was a promising young athlete until a painful injury left him with an addiction to prescription opioids; his family is afraid that he will meet an unfortunate end if there isn't an intervention.
When she was a teenager, Courtney's moodiness turned to rebellion and she began to experiment with drugs; now, she no longer cares about her health or safety.
Coleman began experimenting with alcohol and drugs after his father died; his drug use caused him to lose custody of his 4-year-old daughter; his family worries his addiction may kill him.
Shandon's early life was disrupted at 3 years old when her parents divorced and her mother moved out of the country; now in her mid-20s and saddled with a $200-a-day intravenous habit, she prostitutes herself to feed her addiction.
Susan grew up in a devoutly Mormon household. As an adult, she suffered a back injury and was prescribed OxyContin. Not only did the medication ease her back pain, it also numbed the memories of her turbulent family upbringing and a recent breakup. She became addicted, and when her doctor stopped prescribing them, she turned to heroin.
Devasted when she lost custody of her son, Amanda began drinking heavily and moved to Las Vegas for a fresh start. Once there she became seduced by the city's notorious party culture and started using methamphetamine.
Michael moved to Las Vegas to work with the world-famous hip-hop dance troupe “Jabbawockeez,” but years of family betrayal caught up with him and after turning to meth, he’s lost everything.
Born in Las Vegas, Erika overcame a heroin addiction due to childhood trauma, but now anxiety from the COVID-19 pandemic has caused her to relapse, placing her life--and her dream of being a loving mother to her young daughter--in jeopardy. Interventionist: Vance Johnson.
After being seduced at a young age by the notorious party scene of Las Vegas, Lexi got clean and started a family of her own, only to lose it all to a dangerous meth and heroin addiction.
Jake moved to Las Vegas to work on a US Senator's re-election campaign. When he came out as gay, he was rebuffed by family and colleagues, plunging him into a deep depression he masks with alcohol.
Teenage hockey player Amber has an on-ice collision, benching her for good and forcing her to live with chronic pain; surgery improves her underlying injury, but leaves her with a dependence on pain medication.
Twenty-nine-year-old Mike was a loving dad and partner who was determined to be the father that he never had; after a workplace accident his dream came crashing down as he developed an addiction to prescription painkillers.
Elizabeth's single mother suffered from depression and alcoholism, and committed suicide when she was 8. She was shuffled in and out of foster homes before her father decided to try and raise her. In high school, she turned to alcohol to cope with her feelings of abandonment and isolation. Eventually Elizabeth began dating a drug dealer and replaced alcohol with opioids. Now 22 and hooked on a deadly combination of fentanyl and cocaine, Elizabeth sells drugs to fund her nearly $400/day addiction. Her father and half-sister are hoping an intervention will save Elizabeth from following her mother's path to an early grave.
A four-time Canadian champion, 35-year-old Tim was well on his way to the big leagues in the lucrative world of mixed martial arts; Tim's family had a history of addiction and that cycle was an opponent he just couldn't pin to the mat.
Dan, a talented hockey player, struggles to live up to his alcoholic father's expectations; Dan's desire to have an amicable father-son relationship comes to an abrupt end when his father dies in a car crash, fueling his own alcoholic breakdown.
When Pamela's mother remarried, Pamela thought she'd finally regained the father figure she'd been missing for most of her life. But it was a short-lived dream as friction between Pamela and her stepfather forced her to leave the home in search of her long-lost father. Adding layers to Pamela's plight, while living with her biological father she was further traumatized by exposure to his drug addiction. Surrounded by drugs and with no responsible adult to guide her, Pamela quickly turned to a life of partying and drugs. It wasn't until Pamela had a son that she found purpose and sobriety. But because she had only a vague idea of what a stable family looked like, Pamela found motherhood a struggle and turned back to the one thing in her life that was consistent: alcohol and drugs. Now she's estranged from her child, and her family fear that without a successful intervention, Pamela's future is in serious doubt.
Kelsey was a standout student, extremely talented at soccer and could charm her way through anything. Everything changed when she was sexually assaulted at her first high school party at the age of 14. She didn't tell anyone about the attack and instead began using alcohol to mask the pain. Drugs soon followed and Kelsey went all-in, using cocaine and alcohol daily. Today, the change in Kelsey is shocking. She is unrecognizable; gripped by psychosis, her kind, gentle soul has turned aggressive and destructive. Her family is terrified that, without an intervention, they may never get their little girl back.
An adopted child whose parents divorced when she was a teenager, Catlin hid from her attachment wounds by overachieving in school and sports.
After successfully losing 100 pounds and getting breast augmentation, Maria began to socialize and frequent bars on the weekends, which put a strain on her marriage; eventually, Maria and her husband divorced.
Krystal lives out her dream of getting married and dedicating her life to two young sons, but the effects of growing up in a dysfunctional family, along with the death of her father, turn Krystal into an alcohol, heroin, meth and fentanyl addict.
When Ryan severely injured his ankle, doctors prescribed opioids; Ryan, couch-bound for a year, enjoyed the emotionally numbing effect of the drugs; now 26, he is addicted to fentanyl, and has nearly lost his life to overdose multiple times.
When a family secret is accidentally revealed to Brea, the world she's known her entire life is shattered; as she begins to tailspin out of control with the help of alcohol and pharmaceuticals, all her mother can do is fight to pick up the pieces.
Raised in Northern California, Kenny excelled in football and had big dreams of playing in the NFL, but a misstep in high school triggered a series of events that left him homeless and addicted to dangerous amounts of fentanyl.
When Christine's brother died in a tragic accident, she turned to methamphetamine and her seemingly perfect family spiraled out of control; interventionists Ken Seeley and Sylvia Parsons team up on the biggest case of their careers.
Despite multiple overdoses and medical emergencies, Christine and her three adult children continue to use dangerous amounts of fentanyl together in their single studio apartment in Garden Grove, Calif.
When years of unchecked childhood trauma finally caught up to her, Sarah began to numb her pain with fentanyl and meth; her family fears that if Sarah doesn't get help, she will certainly die.
34-year-old Jordan served in the Army, and then had a successful career as an ICU nurse. But after 8 years, the pressure of caring for seriously ill patients became too much, and Jordan turned to alcohol to cope. Two years ago, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and ICU deaths skyrocketed, Jordan spiraled further into his addiction and eventually lost his job, his wife and his kids. Now Jordan lives with his parents and drinks all day long. His family knows that their son, who once worked tirelessly to save others' lives, now needs someone to save his own life. Interventionist: Ken Seeley.
Social media phenomenon Amber Rose travels home to South Philadelphia to come to the aid of her childhood best friend, Tina, who's addicted to fentanyl and crack, but Tina is currently lost on the dangerous streets of Kensington.
Former high school football star, Nick, and his girlfriend, Emily, were once happy, popular kids from well-to-do families. Now both heavily addicted to carfentanil, an opioid 10,000 times more potent than morphine, they live a life of reckless use and petty crime, all while staying at Nick's parents' home. Helpless to stop this destructive behavior and at their wits' end, Nick's family has stepped up to offer their son--and Emily--a final shot at getting clean.
Three addicted brothers have turned their childhood home into a hellish drug den where death is constantly at the door; the brothers continue to struggle with the extreme abuse they suffered growing up.
Jessica, a former high school beauty queen, is now just a shadow of her former self; as a teen mom, Jessica went to college and did her best to provide for her children, but a toxic ex introduced her to the drug trade.
Nineteen-year-old Melissa, once a star athlete who spent her free time volunteering, experiments with drugs and alcohol is eventually lured into the dark world of sex trafficking after experiencing a sexual assault as a young teen.
Tim and Jessica, both 43, first met in the 6th grade but three years ago they reconnected on Facebook and embarked on a chaotic.
When devoted animal rescuer, Shannon, develops a drug addiction, the one thing she can't seem to rescue is herself; childhood trauma, sexual abuse and toxic relationships become an explosive mix.
For Gabby and Patryk, it was love at first sight, 9 months later, Gabby gave birth to their daughter; they both happen to be heavily addicted to drugs, and the drug dealing lifestyle; their using has cost them custody of their daughter.
Disappointed by his own failed athletic career, Greg's father had found a new life in drugs and alcohol, and ultimately introduced his own son to crack cocaine; now 31, Greg is addicted to a deadly mix of fentanyl and meth and living on the streets.
Erika and Joey used meth together on their first date, beginning a drug-fueled romance; Joey's family refuses to be around Erika, leading to tension in the relationship; both families must come together to save them.
Josh's struggle with addiction threatens to destroy him; separated from his father and bullied for years, he's lost his way, leaving his family to fight for his survival amidst the chaos and violence fueled by crack cocaine.
Tommy and Melly, both 19, have had a troubled life for two people so young; both grew up in hardworking families, surrounded by a lot of love, but also a lot of pain; they are spiraling into fentanyl and meth addiction.
Cassandra and Steven met in a rehabilitation center five and a half years ago; after leaving treatment, they moved in together and shortly thereafter were engaged to be married; both quickly relapsed, spiraling deep into addiction.
After Shantell overdosed on the drugs Garrett supplied her with, he saved her life and the two fell in love; years later, both Garrett and Shantell are addicted to fentanyl and meth and their families believe they will die if they don't get help now.
Carlee and Cody believe their addiction is a passing phase; with the constant enabling from Cody's father, they have no reason to quit this lifestyle and their families fear that their relationship will end tragically.
Corinne and Joey live together in Northern California where they scrounge money for meth, smoke whatever they can get their hands on, and profess their undying love for one another.
Danielle is addicted to fentanyl and struggles to survive in the streets while her children live in fear that the next time they see her will be at the local morgue.
Cody and Erin have a loving relationship, primarily founded on their addiction to drugs; they were once a couple of bright kids with decent futures ahead of them, but hard circumstances and family loss have derailed them.
Golden child Tristan excelled at academics and the arts, winning scholarships and lead parts in theater productions; after a sexual assault at university, he spiraled into severe alcoholism; his liver is failing, his family fears for his life.
An update on a pre-med student who became addicted to inhalants.
Updates on a young woman addicted to heroin and a middle-aged man addicted to alcohol.
Updates on a young man with a history of drug abuse.
An update on a man who became addicted to crack and alcohol after several personal losses.
An update on a young woman who abused crystal meth following a divorce.
An update on a woman who suffered family tragedies and turned to the bottle.
An update on a mother of four children who lives in a small Hawaiian village who pounds beers and spends most of her time alone.
An update on a mother of three who turns tricks to feed her crack addiction and wishes her family would just get off her back.
An update on a troubled woman and her dangerous addiction to prescription pills.
An update on identical twins who suffer from Anorexia.
An update on a man who once had offers to play major-league baseball but battles alcoholism and gambling.
An update on a mother struggling with heroin addiction.
An update on a woman suffering from crack addiction.
An update on a young woman struggling with heroin addiction.
An update on a man who suffers from crack addiction and lives in his car after being a victim of physical abuse as a boy.
An update on a man who battles a heroin addiction.
An update on a man who battled meth addiction after he was molested.
An update on a woman who battled alcoholism.
An update on a woman who battled methamphetamine addiction following the death of her father and suffering molestation at the hand of a cousin.
An update on a mom and wife who was dangerously addicted to Percocet.
An update on an anorexic woman who weighed 93 pounds and whose young daughter was following in her footsteps.
An update on a man who got caught up in the gangster lifestyle and started dealing drugs.
An update on a woman who became bulimic after being molested as a child.
An update on a woman who turned to a life of partying, fueled by alcohol, heroin, and Ecstasy after being sexually assaulted as a child.
The dangers of inhalant abuse, including computer dusters, solvents and gasoline, are exposed.
