Tragic small town tale shows heroin is entering mainstream

In terms of substance abuse, heroin often seems like an extreme. Plenty of adolescents and college kids may be experimenting with alcohol, marijuana and even prescription pills, but heroin? That's considered a hard drug – something only true "junkies" abuse. 

However, it's becoming increasingly clear that heroin is making a resurgence among America's youth, as a recent piece for The New York Times tragically illustrated. The news outlet covered the death of 21-year old Alysa Ivy from the small town of Hudson, Wisconsin. Ivy was battling a heroin addiction, one that ultimately took her life.

"In the wake of the prescription painkiller epidemic, heroin, much of it Mexican, has wormed its way into unsuspecting communities far from the Southwestern border as a cheaper and often more easily obtained alternative," the news outlet notes.

At Fairwinds Treatment Center, we've seen evidence of this development first hand. The specialists at our drug treatment center have helped many patients of varying ages, backgrounds and ethnicities overcome this crippling addiction through a targeted, family-focused approach to treatment and care. Our intervention methods have been devised by Fairwinds Treatment Center founder and nationally recognized dual diagnosis pioneer Dr. El-Yousef and combine a 12-step-program, medication, recreation therapy and one-on-one psychiatric counseling to unearth and address the many factors that fuel addiction.

However grim stories like these may be, they are also a call to action – an indication that the American public must open its eyes to the realities of addiction rather than holding on to preconceptions about who does and does not abuse. If you are concerned about substance abuse, contact Fairwinds Treatment Center in Clearwater, Florida, today to learn more.