BUTLER -  The  woman 
			in the  purple  coat shook
			as she  watched her  son die.
			At  the  funeral, trails
			of  mascara-laden    tears 
			streaked down  her cheeks.
			She clutched her husband's
			hand, trying to make sense
			of the death.  The  woman, 
			Jan David,  may  have only
			been acting,  but her per-
			formance was  so realistic
			it jolted  the audience of 
			this months  Reality Tour,
			a dramatic presentation of 
			the  life   of  a   heroin 
			addict.
			 
			

In a mock emergency room scene at the Butler County YMCA, nurse Hally Callithen comforts Jeffery and Jan David, who find that efforts to save their son from a drug overdose were not successful. The scene is part of the Reality Tour, a dramatic presentation of the life of a herion addict. The tour is an effort by reality Tour, a nonprofit group that supports actions of community drug agencies, to combat the ongoing heroin problem in the county.

            In-your-face reality

Faced with the continuing problem of heroin use in the county, the Reality Tour, a non-profit group that supports actions of community drug agencies, organized the program under the direction of board member Norma Norris. The tour is at the Butler County YMCA and begins with a typical teen skit depicting peer presure that can lead students to experiment with drugs.

The tour then becomes decidedly realistic.

The group leaves the YMCA and takes a short walk to the Butler County Prison. While en route, the audience witnesses a mock arrest of a heroin addict.

During the Jan.19 tour, all stared as a city police officer threw the suspect against the squad car and handcuffed him. The audience walked by, some unsure whether the incident was staged.

Norris, creator of the program, said the purpose of the dramatic scenes is to show families, especially children ages 10 to 13, the ugly life of a heroin addict. Audience sizes are keep small, only 70 people at most, to give the group more flexibility and create an intimate setting.
Norris said people experience more of an emotional impact in smaller groups with fewer distractions. Since the monthly programs began in June, more than 500 people have participated.

"I thought if children saw what the life was really like, they would not become involved with it." she said.
Children and parents get a strong dose of reality when the doors of the county prison clang shut behind them. Once inside, the prisoner booking procedures are explained and the interlopers are shown jail cells, a visitation room, and even a padded isolation room.

Returning to the YMCA, the group is ushered into a mock emergency room, complete with heart monitor and a blue-lipped victem. The parents rush into the room, only to watch as their son is pronounced dead.

The audience then shares the parents' grief at the funeral home, where friends pay their respects in front of a closed casket.

Some audience members were visibly shaken after the tour, blowing their noses and holding back tears.

The reality of the tour was confirmed by a county Detective Pat Cannon, who is the coordinator of the county's drug task force. He said heroin use apears to be leveling off from previous years. Last year, the task force made between 90 and 100 drug related arrests.

However, he said heroin is still "an epidemic" in the county because it is being used by a younger age group, specifically teenagers.

He told the Reality Tour audience that unlike drug waves in the past, few heroin dealers are from outside the county.

"We've had to completely shift how we do investigations. Our kids are selling to our kids." He said.

According to county coroner's reports, in 2002, 12 people died of heroin use. The average age of death was 26, and the youngest was 16.

There were 13 drug-related deaths in 2003, at an average age of 25. All but one were male, and the youngest was 18.

			          2 tell their  story

			 

			   Cannon did not speak long

			before      he          introduced

			Kristina, 19,  and Kelli, both

			recovering   heroin  addicts

			who speak  to groups about

			their addiction. The women

			were  introduced  by   their

			first names only.

			   Both       grew    up    in   the 

			county   and   began   exper-

			menting   with    drugs    and 

			alcohol while in high school.

			Kristina first started drinking

			when she was  12  years  old.

			A  neighbor  she  was   baby-

			sitting   for   would   pay  her

			with  beer  and  then   watch

			her get drunk for fun.

			   Her    porcelain - like   skin

			belie  the  fact  her  drinking

			eventually  led  to  drug use

			and   heroin,    which   is   an 

			extremely addictive opiate.

			She  said  she  stole   money

			from  family  and  freinds to

			support  her  habit  and was 

			eventually arrested.

			"You do anything you have

			to  do   to   get   your   high."

			   Because of her drug-related

			crimes,    Kristina  is  on  ten

			years' probation.

			

			
			

After abusing a buffet of drugs, through her late teens and early 20's, Kelli discovered heroin and the euphoric high experienced when the drug is injected into the bloodstream. Her habit expolded to 20 to 30 doses, or stamps, a day, which cost her between $200 and $300. She said at one time during a two-month period, she charged more than $18,000 to her mother's credit card.

Eventually, she found herself homeless and penniless in Washington Pa., where she was willing to do anything to feed her habit.

"Being an addict is a full time job." she said.

Kelli is on probation for 16 years.

The women find it therapeutic to tell others their experiences. They agreed they wanted to help others avoid mistakes, but the storytelling also keeps the reality of usage foremost in their minds.

"It helps keep the whole thing fresh." said Kelli.

That is important, said Cannon, since the women have an 85 percent chance of relapsing.

If either are arrested again, she will be jailed in a state, not county facility.

            Drug sweeps

In spite of the perceived leveling off of the overall drug use problem, Cannon said it is still dire.

Cannon said he favors random drug testing in schools as long as assurances could be made that testing would not target one group of students over another. Although he believes county school districts still aren't doing enough to protect students, he said they are doing better than they had in previous years.

"They didn't know this was coming; no one knew. We certainly were caught off guard." he said.

Butler School District has a long-standing drug and alcohol programs that have been augmented by more aggressive measures to counteract the drug problem in recent years.

According to Jim Allen, junior high school principal, three to four times a year state police canine units sweep the district with dogs trained to find illegal substances. In the three years the sweeps have been conducted, no illegal substances have been found.

He said parents generally cooperate with district programs designed to identify students who may be using drugs, although many initially deny their children are involved.

"Some throw up a wall, but many are now more supportive." he said.

Diane Snyder, the school board vice president, said community awareness of the heroin problem seems to have increased, and parents are now more willing to work with school officials.

Prior to 2003, I sat in expulsion hearings where the parents said they have held parties at their houses and did drugs with the kids. And those parents couldn't figure out why we had a problem with that." she said.

            Families still suffer

The Reality Tour also depicts family anguish that is all too real.

Shirley Domhoff, whose daughter is a recovering heroin addict, lives with the pain everyday. Like Kelli and Kristine, Domhoff's daughter began experimenting with alcohol, pain pills and marijuana in high school, where she once was a good student and athlete.

Domhoff, who requested her daughter not be named in this article, said she initially blamed herself when she found out about her daughter's usage just before the Christmas of 1999.

"It hasn't been a fun ride." she said, her face etched with pain.

Since her discovery, Domhoff has joined a support group for parents of addicts. She said there is a limit to the amount of help that can be given.

"Parents can only do so much. Schools can only do so much." she said.

Nancy Edwards agreed. She is a volunteer with Reality Tour, and her son, Mark, is a recovering heroin addict.

Edwards said Mark was 15 when she found out about his heroin use. She said she helped him at her home for five days as his body went through withdrawal, an especially painful experience for heroin addicts. Edwards bluntly described her son's struggle with heroin, her brown eyes full of sorrow.

She said she would continue to help him, but the decision to quit was ultimately his.

"I didn't show him how (to use drugs)." she said. "He chose. It was his choice."

It is this choice that Reality Tour aims to help parents and children understand.

And the word seems to be spreading.

Norris said the tours have filled. As of december, there was a two-month waiting period to get on the audience list. The next tours are Feb. 16 and March 15.

Norris said she thinks the tours have been successful because the problem is widespread and it cuts across all social and economic barriers.

She said the demand for a place on the tour is high because people are looking for information and help.

"The success of this is a blessing and a curse at the same time." she said.

            To learn more

Where you can get help:

Ministries of Eden, 724-285-5842

Irene Stacy CMH Center, 724-287-0791

Gateway North Hills, 724-776-4844

Ellen O'Brien Gaiser Addiction Center, 724-285-2297 or 724-287-8205

Family First Resource Center, 724-284-4357

Butler County Drug Task Force, 724-284-5225