The Young Victims of America's Opioid Epidemic
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 ธ.ค. 2016
- Thousands of children have been affected by the widespread abuse of opioids by their parents, swelling the ranks of foster care and turning grandparents into full-time caregivers. Video: Adya Beasley. Photo: Maddie McGarvey for The Wall Street Journal
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Chuck saying his biggest fear is passing away before the boys are older broke my heart
That just shows his love for the children
Incredibly beautiful and inspiring. It hit me more when he said '...when you have your own families...' he wants nothing more than to see them have a happy life ;-)
too sad 😢😢
It isn't just opioids. I am a grandmother who retains custody of two boys 10 and 11. My daughter is addicted to meth. I wait for the phone to ring or a knock at the door. I hold my breath every day all day. I so appreciate this story and so many others like it.
Tammy Testa What an amazing woman you are 💕 I can't imagine what it must be like to have to deal with that amount of pain every day and still be present for your grandchildren. My heart goes out to you with love and light to keep you and them safe 💕✨🙏🏻✨💕
I hope that ring or knock never comes for you. And hats off for taking care of the children. All the best wishes for you and your loved ones.
God bless you
Tammy Testa bless you dear. My grandparents raised me because my parents were opioid addicts and I literally thank God for them every day. You’re doing an amazing thing. I hope your daughter sees the way out soon... only she can help herself, unfortunately. Much love from WV 💙💛
I finally got that phone call about my father, as soon as I saw who was calling ... I steeled myself, because I knew. It's been six months and it's still hard but for me, my real father, my drug free father, died a long time ago.
These grandparents and adoptive parents are invisible superheros. I am so glad that these three boys are in secure havens now. And it is only possible through these devoted people.
Now that it's happening to white ppl it's news. In black and latin communities, grandparents are often the primary caregivers. Where's the compassion for the other communities that have been suffering from this for decades? Those grandparents are also heros. When we ignore what's going on with others because we don't think it'll ever affect us, we are doomed. PTSD doesn't just affect white kids who loss their parents to drugs, all children regardless are affected by that kind of loss.
@@MsBettyRubble That's not true at all.
@@MsBettyRubble All grandparents and adoptive parents who do this are heroes regardless of anything else. I don't come from the USA, and I didn't pay attention what kind of people there were in the video. I meant what I wrote in general.
@@graceg4996 Google Gary Webb and what he discovered. Then tell me about the sympathy he got and the communities he reported on received.
@@szeszi21 If you're not from the US and you don't know about the racism here, your comment, though trying to be kind, is not informed. Yes, everyone who genuinely cares for a child is a hero. But why the support now? Why not sooner? Children affected by drug-addicted parents has been going in forever. Why now?
That kid ben... Feels like me but worse. My mom who raised me was/is alcoholic and abusive. We don't talk anymore.
Ben just takes things day by day, playing his fictional characters to escape a reality that is scary or confusing.
It just hits too real..
If I could I'd tell Ben that he'd be alright, Harry potter and superheros is what's gonna get him through the tough times.
May your Patronus spell be the brightest of them all my little man.
I couldn't have said it better
Thank God that sweet family was able to permanently adopt him. He has a good, stable family now. He'll have some struggles, but he also has hope.
I have a similar background like you. Stay strong and I wish you all the best in life ❤❤❤❤❤
I am so sorry. My ex husband is an abusive alcoholic. I divorced him, and got our sons out of a bad situation, but he's still awful to his sons. It hurts my heart. I hope you have positive people in your life to help you make a good life.
This comment made me tear up, I also hope he knows he will be ok. Harry Potter was one of my escapes too. That and pokemon. I'd play outside for hours and hours pretending to be a Pokemon trainer or harry potter's "sister" lol. I was afraid of the dark and I remember once the electric bill wasn't paid and I couldn't use my nightlight I cast a "patronus" with my flashlight and slept with it under my pillow. It actually made me feel safe. You got me with the patronus comment.
God bless that woman and her husband for raising those precious boys.
my dad tried to scare me with videos of police shooting people and gun pointing them to the head and said to me that if i ever told anyone what drugs he was doing that would happen to me.
@@cearad3472 He's all talk, don't be scared
My heart hurts for her my prayers are with them . 🙏
My grandmother has raised me since I was 7 years old. My father died and my mother became addicted to meth. I’m now 20 years old and am so grateful for her. She is now 79 and now I’m helping take care of her.
God Bless You and your Grandma 🌹
You're a good man!
God bless you! Your granma did a stellar job raising you.
Lost it hearing about Ben and how he wished to have bigger muscles so when he shook his dad he’d wake up. He is so blessed to have his adoptive family. My heart aches for him 💔 he reminds me so much of my son
Ben made me cry, flashes to my childhood. I pray he is protected from becoming an active addict
What kind of evil monster traumatizes their child with horror movies. Glad Ben was taken from that horrific existence.
Theresa F Junkie monsters. 😡👿😡
@@fauxmanchu8094 I've known people who do that and were never addicted to anything. Some people are monsters...others are just very stupid.
Drugs are a door to the demons.
Bruh I watched horror movies all the time growing up. Yeah it sometimes gave me nightmares but I always wanted to keep on watchin em. S’all good man jesus
That grandparents and adoptive parents are invisible superheros. I am glad that these three boys are in a secure haven now. And that is only possible trough these devoted people.
My daughter in law just passed away on November 2nd 3018 from a drug overdose, she left 3 children, 16, 13, 14, she passed away in her sons birthday . My son has been raising his children since they separated in 2016 . I miss her so much she was a good , hard working woman who had a 10 hour back operation , was put on pain meds and from there it went bad !! She was 35 and it is a sad thing. My son knows we are here day or night and he can move home anytime . My home is my grandchildrens home more than they know. I told them to call me day or night for anything !!
Tammy Wines I’m so sorry!
@otheerer Thank you very much. God bless .
I’m so sorry for your loss, Tammy. You sound like an awesome mother and grandmother though. Hats off to your son for doing what most wont! It takes a strong man to raise his children without their mother. Bless your family.
@@virgie4715 Awww thank you so very much . O hate to watch what drugs do to the whole family. I also feel so bad for the person who is addicted most of these ppl were first put in pain meds . I refuse to kick z person when they are already suffering. I feel bad for the dear grandparents . God bless all individuals involved and suffering. We are all family on this beautiful earth. May God bless everyone and I mean this from the bottom of my heart.
A coworker of mine recently had surgery, for something very minor, and they tried to prescribe her Fentanyl, she said no and they gave her Tylenol
Poor sweet boy. I'm a trauma survivor from a meth/alchohol home. My heart breaks for anyone who has to live with the effects of their parents addictions.
Such an important message, addicts are far from the only ones suffering from the affects of their addiction & the trauma is carried on long past the addiction's end, if in recovery or if in death. Thank goodness for the good people caring for these young souls. May they all have the most happiness they can possibly grab in this life...
Yep. This is exactly why I got clean *BEFORE* having children. Almost a year and a half clean and about to have my first baby. I'll never ever let her see anything to do with addiction, I refuse to put my child through that.
we need more documentaries on this. we have to end the stigma with addiction to help those addicted.
I would not help them. They are irresponsible people who know they are addicted, yet they keep making babies who are born addicted too. Many of them die, others are handicapped mentally or physically (or both), and all of them have a spoilt childhood that will affect their entire life. Those who are addicted are stupid for even starting messing up with drugs. They had known that drugs are addictive, dangerous and could kill them. So by starting messing up with drugs they just showed their stupidity. They got into that situation and now everybody around them should help them? No way. I know my words are harsh, but I have parents who are addicted to alcohol and I have no sympathy towards them. They destroyed our entire family, me and my 6 siblings ended up in different orphanages, we didn't know each other until we were adults. Our parents will die alcoholics. So what? They have not tried to do anything about it. No rehabilitation, nothing. They just keep on drinking. And it is the same with drugs. The fewere addicts there are, the better. They don't deserve our sympathy, neither our help. They are no good for the society.
@@danapertile106 I get your sentiment, I understand it. I am angry for my own reasons, my own life. But it helps nobody, least of all the children still suffering. Addiction is a real, medical problem. Yes, they made a decision to start drugs or alcohol, but people don't go in to it believing it will take over their lives most of the time. It's a vicious cycle and often times it repeats itself through each family generation. If we who understand the pain of this don't help stop this cycle for future generations, who will? You don't have to care for the people in your life, that would be cruel to you. I don't have to care for the people in my life, but if someone else would, if someone else could, it would help make the world just a little bit better. Some people will refuse the help, others will take it and fail, but some will succeed. And some of them even deserve to.
I’m 23 and I’ve been addicted to opiates for roughly 2 years, they were given to me like peanut brittle by an abusive ex. I thought it was his small kindness, allowing me to feel pleasure instead of manually inflicted pain. Quite a lot else happened that there’s no point describing, but I know that my attempt to quit resulted in the immediate (like a scalp being peeled off, or dried glue) removal of any veneer of societal competence. I’ve realized my ptsd is especially severe and I should be in treatment, but my experiences with hospitalization have been horrifying and I wish I could say otherwise. I feel wretched for everybody involved. I haven’t told my immediate family about my addiction, and they don’t understand why I’m struggling. I’d like to tell them, but I’m afraid they’ll hurl the kind of vitriol that I read in the first comment. All that would do is pummel me down further. I have the power to change my life for myself and my current fiancé (not my ex), because he’s giving me a reason to stay alive without using. But people who call all addict selfish and don’t have the seedcake of empathy to see that we are suffering too, we aren’t just burdens or negligent people. There’s significant context and trauma, often, I’m not going to speak for everybody. It just feels like sandpaper on my nerve endings to hear somebody talk like, “they don’t deserve to live!” Because I think that’s a despicable way to think. It’s not as if all addicts are also cruel and therefore deserve the pain they’re dealt. There’s no explaining it to a person who is more stubborn than concrete.
They have to want to quit before they can be helped.
@@danapertile106 Yes. Often abortion is better than being born in such a family.
This truly breaks my heart. I work in a pediatric scheduling office, and the amount of appointments we make where the kids file says, "Grandmother/Father/Sister has custody, parent died from overdose" gets me every time. We really are in a crisis.
Mom. Your doing a great job with the boys. We are proud of you. Thankyou. Its best they are with you now.
My son's dad died from an overdose...this has me sobbing.
Lifting up both families in prayer. May God surround the 3 boys with His loving hedge of protection...
May God bless all the little (& not so little) children tonight and every night.
ML Isaacs AMEN
As an on-off opiate addict for over 5 years. I think one the BEST THING I've ever done is NOT have children.
Bobbi Bart Same here.
Giving up women entirely has been the best thing I did.
Thanks for your unselfish decision, and I hope you get off drugs.
My father is a drug addict/alcoholic. It is the hardest thing I've ever been through. He was at his worst during my pre-teen years and early adolescence, and the way that the trauma affects someone is unspeakable. I've gotten through it, and I am now 20 and I am making a great life for myself. But, if it wasn't for my mother, the person who rescued me and raised me, I'd be dead. People who take on children who have experienced such trauma are truly life savers.
My son-in-law just lost his life last month. Our daughter and two grandchildren are now living with my husband and I. It is so sad this is happening to so many. We feel blessed that we can help. I’m so sorry to everyone that has lost a loved on to addiction 🙏💕
Those sweet boys, a parents job is never done huh? Bless those grandparents.
These poor poor children. They did not choose these lives.
2:06 8+19=11 , 11-8=19 lol maybe grandma needs to check his homework Haha
Yeah.. saw it and had to rewind.
Priority is that Ben does not end up in prison.
His chances of being a rocket scientist has already been destroyed by his mom before he was even born.
@@solobackpacking he still could be. I highly doubt it though.
@Pain_Is_Good surprise surprise...another negative person with an opinion about a whole group/race of humans! Great comment...but when you are going to comment about someone elses I.Q.-you MAY want to know the difference between using the word "than" and "then" in the proper way.
Just saying.
I saw that lol.
"I don't think anyone can ever hurt me like that again."
That saying is so true when it comes to losing a family member to an overdose. I feel her pain
It isn't only opioids. I am a grandmother raising 2 grandsons. 9 yr old which I have had since birth & a 13 yr old that I've had on and off his entire life. My daughter is an alcoholic & the biological father a drug user who has fathered 12 children. There are millions of us grandparents out there raising grandchildren. I'm a single parent & my prayer is that I live long enough to see my boys healthy, secure & happy ❤
Does anyone else see there is something very wrong with the world or is it just me?
Nah, man. The world has always been wrong. Before the 17th century children were depicted as smaller versions of adults. It's only in recent years that childhood has been seen as a time of innocence, with much needed sheltering from the real world. Traumatic events happen to children all the time, and it's so much more likely that they'll blame themselves, and think that there's something wrong with /them/ if we keep lying that the world is sunshine, lollipops and rainbows.
no shit sherlock
Families torn apart.
Alex Klatt a lot of us see it but it will take a lot more to see before any real changes happen.
@@CharcoalDove Your mistake is thinking that people didn't suffer because of traumatic events in their childhood until recently. Why do you think children were better equipped to deal with trauma before?
Did I just see a Harry Potter turkey? Ben the genius.
My brother just past from the same thing. It's makes our whole family feel guilt and ashamed... not of my brother but of ourselves. We all feel like we didn't try hard enough.
People try and comfort us and say,
it's not our fault. but we can't help the way we feel, no matter what people say.
When you have a family member with that type of attention that was a on going disease for years. You remember feeling the blame they put on you while they were on the drugs, You remember telling them don't talk to me until you get your life together, you also remember avoiding the phone calls in the middle of the night when they needed to talk to you, not believing them when they come to you for help for the 20th time.
The worst of all, excluding him from the family get togethers & holidays even when he was sober for a few weeks or months because a person who doesn't understand the addiction has no clue how much support an addict needs while being sober. I will never for give myself for being that judgmental.
I know he did it to himself...
but I feel like... me giving up on him along with everyone else didn't help.
I pray for those families and children from the bottom of my heart.
Please know that you are not to blame for your brother. He made a decision which unfortunately took his life, but you also need to know he never blamed his family, I say this because I myself am addicted to pain pills due to a horrible car accident that kept me in the hospital for 1 year. I have tried to stop 3 times but the withdrawal is extremely difficult and also painful. There is not enough information out there to educate the public, family or friends in reference to addiction and so people tend to distance themselves thinking tough love might help. Addiction is a illness just like any other illness and requires professional help . Please don't blame yourself, and know that your brother does not blame you for if he were here he would tell you, himself. God Bless you and your family always.
No non addict has any clue how much love and care an addict truly needs to get better 90% and my family included weren’t caring enough to help and just abandoned them thinking tough love would fix it it makes me sick. I did get sober eventually but my family giving up on me and not loving me enough to even answer my calls probably is the reason I didn’t stop until I was critically ill and nearly dead and even now sober I’ll still die from my health problems drugs caused
You are to blame. Don't let ppl lie to you man. But nothing can be done now. The junkie needs rehab or getting cut off. Never trust a junkie. Sorry about your pain
Sending you a big hug, please forgive yourself trust that God has a plan for all of us, sending you so much love
I admire people who are brave and kind enough to adopt kids with complicated background and try every single day to show to those kids that life is wonderful after all ❤❤❤❤❤
I had to bury my husband and now try to raise my son on my own.
I'm so sorry. Please take care of yourself. Blessings from Rhode Island to you & your son. 💔
You will be the best mother to your boy ❤️
They are so courageous to adopt children with such a difficult family history! Drug abuse is terrible!
Grandma, you are a hero. I’m sure it’s not easy. I lost my son in his teens. I commend you. Your love knows no bounds💞
My HEART goes out to all these grandparents and these poor sweet children and all the others in the same situation ❤
The system failed that little boy. If his biological father had NEVER had him then he would not gave PTSD. So sad
Trump2020 why are you talking about systemic failure but you support a president who cares nothing for the average person, or any person, and the struggles they have to face and the systemic challenges? Idgi
@@cleocole493 It's a shame you've bought that lie the liberals & main stream media have fed you. Stay away from the mainstream media, think for yourself, & seek the facts✌✌
DSS has requirements to get your children back. They don't just hand them back to the parents. It's unfortunate he was abused by his father after being given back to him. Not everyone involved with DSS is a bad person/parent or a junkie.
We have custody of Ben's only full brother. He's now 14. My parents adopted him when he was 5 years old, but fostered him when he was 3. He suffers from many of the things young Ben suffers from. Seeing Ben act out Harry Potter makes my heart hurt because he's just like his brother. The first year we had him, he dressed as Harry Potter for Halloween. It doesn't get easier for these children. The mother has had several more children in Washington, and the father had a child long before my brother was ever born.
She's blessed CPS let her keep them.
God bless these children & the parents that are raising them 🙏
it is so wonderful that these boys have her and her husband thank you for sharing this story . . .
This made me cry so much. These poor little angels. My heart goes out to all the kids struggling with abusive, or absent, or drug addicted parents. My heart goes out to the kids who are hurting in silence, faded into the background who don't get to tell their story. I want to tell you I love you, and I care about you. I feel your pain, and i want you to one day be happy. You deserve it and i hope you find it. I love you guys, so much, try your best to stay strong. I wish i could give you all a big hug and tell you how much i love you guys and want you all to be okay.
Heartbreaking. Wonderful kind grandparents and adoptive parents. 💚
my dad was a victim of this when i was really little and he still gets effected with depression and anxiety. Thankfully, though he didnt die. I remember when i was really little though and i thought he was. Now i know that it was his depression that was more likely to kill him than the opioid epidemic
.
So heartbreaking!
Thank you for this. Those boys are way too sweet!
Sad but happy they have you and your husband. I can’t imagine the loss of your daughter. My prayers are with you, husband and boys. God bless you!
God bless these grandparents! My son works in addictions. It's horrible for these babies. Thank heavens for the family!
This Woman is phenomenal so truly kind and loving….losing a child I can’t even imagine and to become basically a Mother of 2 again what an amazing wonderful woman ♥️♥️♥️ her grandsons will love her even more someday
God bless those two wonderful couples!
This really hurt to watch as my parents raised my sisters child from the time she was 3. My sister unfortunately continues to use and 7 years later lost custody of her second child to the other grandparents.
Ben,
You ARE a superhero! So strong & resilient.
As a recovering addict and mother I stay grateful and vigilant 💖🙏
I’m deeply sorry for your loss 🌷🙏🏽🌷
Absolutely heart breaking.
Bless these beautiful children, thank you for taking such good care of them
I am so glad this little boy will have a great life♥️
Beautiful young little guys praying they have a better life and praying for grandma and grandpa to. It’s sooo sad that drugs are taking over our kids
I'M SO PISSED that this man used in front of that baby! Just a tragedy.
My friends son died from a bad batch of opioid.... beyond heartbreaking. I cannot imagine - my heart hurts.
I feel for you! So sad and just not easy to now start over again and raise a family without your daughter. May god give you the strengths to go forward with this new responsibility.
My mom and dad died from heroin overdoses when I was 2 and I was put into foster care until I was adopted at 8. I can’t even tell you how much I wish I could connect with people and how I could feel things differently. I’m 25 now and my whole life has been affected by those first years of my life and I do forgive my birth parents, but at the same time I am still mad at them for not thinking about how their actions would effect their baby. Now I’m mentally ill with schizoaffective disorder and need medication to even be able to function. I’m the happiest I’ve ever been right now, but when I see videos like this I do get triggered and all the thoughts/memories rush though my brain. People say physical pain is hard, but mental and emotional pain I swear is way worse.
makes me so sad. My dad was addicted to opiods.
Thank you for talking care of the boys. We all love you for that. The boys just love you. Your the best thing that chould have ever happened to them. Your a great woman.
I m so very sorry that you lost your daughter🙏🙏🙏
God bless you sweetie. God will help you along the way. Be strong be brave. Trust what you have inside. I'm sorry that your daughter couldn't beat the battle.
Awww Grandpa Chuck 🙏🏽❤️ prayers for these families
It is actually a crisis of suffering. If someone you would intervene with people who are suffering and help them make their lives work like they do in Portugal none of this would be happening
In the span of two years, I lost my uncle and my best friend to the opioid crisis. Both of them were beautiful, kind, bright, well-adjusted guys. My best friend was 17, and died second. We were supposed to start senior year and turn 18 together in a few months. He left his family broken. My uncle was in his 30s, and died first. He was supposed to go to rehab for the third time that morning. He left my aunt a widow, and three little girls without a father. 10, 6, and 1. Too young to understand why they would never see Daddy again.
It wasn’t either of their faults. They both deserved better. I hope, with all my heart, that I and all of those struggling with the opioid crisis can instigate change, because this should never have to happen to anyone, ever again.
God bless this grandmother, these adoptive parents, and these beautiful kids.
Please pray about deliverance
Lane looks just like his grandma! They are so wonderful to take this on.
Ben is so adorable. I’m pray He and the other children are doing much better.
May God Bless both families and may the bond grow stronger and stronger! WoW, such heartbreak. But luckily they are in very loving hands. :-))
Thank goodness for these grandparents and adoptive parents. Breaks my heart that Ben needs to “build muscles so he can get up”. So so wrong💐💐
What kind and loving people.
Wow just so so so sad agree when chuck said he was afraid he would pass before they get older just rips your heart out and there's really know words to say but I hope and pray you guys will be around for all there childhood years and more God bless you all.
Grandma and granddad are the best, you really love those children 👍
That grandpa is the BEST
Im sorry for these families..i DO understand. I lost my son 2 1/2 years ago...complications from heroin usage..He was finally clean, came out of rehab already with the lung problems, he got a lung infection that traveled to his brain and went into a 6 week long coma before it eventually took his life.He was 25 and turned 26 in the hosp....i wish he had had children..now it will never be..I have a huge hole in my heart and my life..and no, nothing will ever be the same again..at times life has no meaning..
bless these families
IT IS NOT FAIR......
So sad our country has been collapsing for years. Pray for the kids and those who are there for them and pray for 🇺🇸
God bless you!
This has me in tears
That kid Ben needs help. Hope he gets it! It's critical that he gets it while he's in the formative years.
The saddest part was when the grandpa of Lain and Reed said that his biggest fear was dying when his boys were teens and not being able to support them through life because of his age.
heartbreaking 💔😭
😢😢 Heartbreaking.
this is so sad.
I am so sad for all these babies and the grandparents stepping in. . I wish I. ould help.
Ouch...these poor babies.
My nana was born in the late 1800's and came from a very large family. Her oldest. brother and his wife died in an accident and all their children came home to the family farm to be raised by other married aunts and uncles and grandparents. I realize the opioid crisis is never ending however extended family raising children is not new.
God bless all these grandparents that take care of these children with addicted parents.
A lot of the time the grandparents are the reason their children are addicts. Grandparents wanting to take custody of grandchildren should be as scrutinized as any other person.
there was never such sympathy for the crack epidemic.
Same with the meth epidemic
Different times people.... social media, TH-cam and other public forums weren’t as prominent if even present yet. Same for the AIDS epidemic. Many lives could have been saved and education would have been much easier with public forums.
That’s because it wasn’t killing people instantly. It’s not a heroin epidemic as much as an overdose epidemic. It’s killing kids, teens, and people from all walks of life instantly. No one was that worried about the meth epidemic either because it wasn’t killing people like this epidemic is. Duh.
Yeah, Race was the elephant in the room. Now that this drug epidemic is affecting mostly whites, its seen as a serious problem.
These people were using medicine, not drugs. They were dupped by the system into drug addiction. Maybe that helps.
There are so many grandparents that have now become parents again because their children could not only take care of themselves but take care of their children as well. Such a shame that their children couldn’t have been stronger!!
Stronger? This is a disease! Maybe people with cancer should be "stronger" so they don't have cancer any more.
Screw you, addiction is AWFUL and it's an incredible battle
W
And where did those grandparents fail their own children? 99% of the time they are the reason their adult children are addicts. They should be heavily scrutinized when wanting to take custody of any children. They obviously didn't do a great job the first time around!
At 2:05, the poor kid’s math is wrong. Hopefully she caught that. At 8:15, it’s really sad that the grandma thinks about when the two boys will eventually get addicted to something, she’s going to end up ,manifesting it. Just love them, and be there for them and hope for the best. As hard as it is, try and not think of the addiction, especially when thinking about the kids.
This is so sad
My heart hurts!
You are so sweet and strong lady you will be ok
Heartbreaking
Thank God for grandma's
chuck you are a great PAW to the boys
Those grandparents...beautiful people.
I wonder why their children turned out to be addicts though?