Newspaper to be featured in TV documentary on addiction
A&E on Monday will air a documentary showcasing a Gatehouse newspaper in Massachusetts that grew frustrated with apathy toward the region's drug epidemic and tells how subsequent coverage moved hundreds of families to demand action from public officials.
"Intervention In-Depth: Heroin Hits Home" showcases the impact of a sweeping yearlong series of drug stories by The Enterprise of Brockton, Mass. The project combined poignant profiles of the epidemic's victims with stories showing how the problem has been ignored by the public agencies best suited to address it.
The hour-long show is part of the network's ongoing series on addiction, and is based on stories done by The Enterprise called "Wasted Youth."
The "Wasted Youth" stories, which were first published in March 2007, revealed that at least 144 people have died from opiate overdoses in southeastern Mass. since 2004. The majority of the victims died from heroin overdose - and many were under 25.
The Enterprise chronicled the tragedies by reviewing death certificates in 28 area communities. The research exposed an epidemic locally, and prompted action on several fronts.
The A&E documentary is part of the network's "Intervention" series, which focuses on helping those caught up in the disease of drug addiction.
Producers for the show met with local recovering addicts, families, counselors and the support group Learn to Cope.
Included in the show are Sarah Milton and Pat Terrill, recovering heroin addicts from Brockton who were featured in "Wasted Youth." Milton helps tell the story of Brockton's Shannah Duggan, who died in 2005 at the age of 19.
Duggan had been a standout dancer and student in high school before getting caught up in OxyContin and heroin addiction.
Five months pregnant, she died from a heroin overdose at her home in Taunton, where her family had moved.
"It's so important for these stories to be told, and as often as possible," said Enterprise managing editor Steve Damish, who profiled Duggan as part of the "Wasted Youth" series. "People need to be warned that what happened to Shannah, what destroyed her family's future, can happen to anybody."
The founder of Learn to Cope, Joanne Peterson of Raynham, will also be featured in the program.
"Working with and knowing so many wonderful families over the last four years across Massachusetts that have been altered or destroyed by this horrific drug," she said, "I have come to realize that standing strong and speaking up about the silent pain so many struggle through brings change little by little, person by person."
A&E's acclaimed "Intervention" series follows people as they fight their way out of addiction. Episodes can be viewed at aetv.com.
"The A&E series 'Intervention' takes a raw and honest look at the very serious issue of addiction and its impact on families across the country," said Colleen Conway, A&E Executive Producer. " 'Intervention In-Depth: Heroin Hits Home' is a vital extension of the series, as it allows us to profile a community caught in the grip of a very powerful and deadly addiction with the same personal and candid brand of story-telling."
Locally, A&E is channel 37 on Comcast - and channel 837 for high definition programming. For more information on the show, go to aetv.com and click on "schedule."
To read The Enterprise's "Wasted Youth" series, go to enterprisenews.com and click on "special reports."