Man: There was a time when we were a normal family.
Say bye.
Baby's hungry.
Those days are over.
[music playing]
Christine, her boyfriend, chantal, and my other two boys
Jordan and joey, all live together
In a small studio apartment.
My family is pretty tight-knit,
But everybody who lives in the apartment
Is addicted to fentanyl.
[music playing]
I shoot up five or six times a day.
[growls]
Fentanyl has just absolutely destroyed our family.
The parents using drugs with their child
Is kind of shocking.
Chantal has overdosed more times than I can remember.
The last time she was unresponsive for five days.
And I know it's because she's away from her son.
I've chosen drugs over my son.
One day, joey and chantal od'd.
Joey: Joey.
Joey: Yeah.
And I was going to two hospitals for two of my kids
That I didn't know if they were alive.
Don't make me scared to be around you.
We have six people to intervene on,
But if we don't get this family help
They're all going to end up dying.
Every single day you're nursing your loved ones to death.
This is the largest intervention I've ever done.
You'll have a chance at a new life with your son in it.
But you need to say yes.
All it will take is one to say no,
And it could sabotage the whole intervention.
[inaudible]
[music playing]
I just wanna dance.
My name is chantal.
I'm 33 years old, and I live in garden grove, california.
Garden grove is right next door
To anaheim where disneyland is.
The happiest place on earth.
The weather's always perfect, and it's just-- it's just home.
There she is.
You look kind of cute.
My mom's wearing a pink shirt.
Chantal is very loving, very giving,
And she loves her family very much.
Look at the ducks.
There's four now.
How excited you get.
I know, it's--
Chantal is also the best big sister to her brothers.
She's like a mother to them.
I've always dreamt of being a mother,
And I played a big role with helping
My mom with my brothers.
Chantal is genuine and down to earth,
But right now, my daughter chantal
Is addicted to fentanyl.
I never thought I would like needles,
But I'm in love with it.
Perfect, on the dot.
Ok.
I shoot up five or six times a day.
And on most days, I use about a half gram of fentanyl.
[music playing]
I inject mainly through my muscle.
It's so much quicker, and-- and it keeps me well a lot longer.
Yeah, I lost my train of thought there.
When chantal uses fentanyl, it's
Not more than a few minutes until she's in her own world.
[growls]
It's terrifying that she puts enough fentanyl in herself
To kill 10 people daily.
I'm also addicted to methamphetamine and xanax.
I smoke about a half gram to a gram of meth a day.
[music playing]
I'm going to scope the parking lot for any receipts.
I pay for my drugs mainly through receipt shopping.
I usually start with the perimeters,
And then return items to the stores that I technically
Didn't purchase myself.
Dang, it's a empty night.
Chantal has changed physically,
Emotionally, spiritually, mentally since her drug use.
Over the years, we've seen missing teeth,
Thinning hair, swollen eyes.
Like there's no life-- there's no life there at all.
Chantal has an overdosed more times than I can remember.
I have overdosed on fentanyl three or four times.
When chantal recently overdosed,
She was unresponsive for five days.
We thought she was not going to come back.
[music playing]
If chantal doesn't stop using she will die.
I'll just stick it right here.
We should have already lost her three times this year.
The next time I don't believe she'll make it.
[music playing]
I think chantal is using the drugs
To numb her upbringing, the things that she's had to live
Through with her family.
[music playing]
Christine and I were high school sweethearts,
And when we found out christine was pregnant,
I told her, ok, well, let's get married,
And I hope it's a girl.
I was 18 years old when I had chantal,
And when I held my daughter for the first time,
She just mesmerized me.
[music playing]
When she was little, she looked like a little mariah carey.
Just so cute.
It was just great times.
I even started my own roofing company
So that I could be my own boss.
And it started off well, making well over $10,000
A week without too much effort.
My dad was very successful.
So my childhood was fantastic, and oh,
My goodness, I was so happy.
But when chantal was four, there
Was a tragedy that happened in my life that changed
It forever, for everybody.
Christine's brother brian passed
Away in an automobile accident.
My younger brother brian meant everything to me.
We were very close growing up.
I was very in shock.
Christine was drinking a lot after her brother passed away.
And I think it was her way of just dealing with the loss.
I think I just self-medicated through all of it.
I knew something was wrong, but I
Didn't know what was wrong.
Meth helped me push through the day, keep my house clean,
Just keep me busy so I could make it appear
To be like, everything was ok.
When I found out she was using drugs,
I just couldn't understand it, and I
Told christine, no more drugs.
No more lies.
Let's make this work.
I just remember feeling so bad about having another life
Inside of me and the poison that I
Was putting inside my body, the effect it
Could have on my child.
I wasn't happy about it, but I did tell myself, if anything
Ever happens to that boy, if he ever has any problems I'll
Know what it is.
I'll never forgive myself.
And I was very thankful that he was ok.
When jordan came, I was just so happy to have a brother.
I was pretty close with chantal growing up.
Ever since I can remember, really.
Like I remember following her around,
And I was always just bugging her, and trying to hang out.
[music playing]
When I was young, I was really close with my siblings,
And chantal was like a second mom to me, she was so loving.
She would never let anything happen to me.
And we had a good period of growth as a family.
[music playing]
But when chantal was 10 or 11, I started
To see some old signs with christine,
And I didn't want to believe it, but I--
I knew what was going on.
Christine relapsed, and once it was confirmed,
I said, be gone tomorrow by the time I get home.
And I went to work, and she was gone when I got home.
The problem there was so were my kids.
After christine took the kids, that was devastating.
I thought, can she do that?
I knew nothing about law, family law.
[music playing]
It was definitely trying to do a lot for us
And spend the most time with us he could.
But I had to get to work, so I could not
Have my kids with me full time.
[music playing]
Christine's addiction was getting worse during that time.
She never knew where the kids were,
What they were dealing with.
She just was not present at all.
Once I was old enough to babysit,
My mom made me take responsibility while she
Was out doing her thing.
My sister was always there for us when my mom was gone.
She just kind of got us going, got us up, got us dressed.
Chantal was a great help with those kids.
She raised them, as far as I'm concerned.
But that put a ton of pressure on chantal as a teenager,
Because she was not only trying to get herself through school,
She was trying to take care of the boys.
And I think chantal definitely missed out on having
An active mom in her life.
As I got older, I would notice little behaviors from my mom
That I wasn't familiar with.
And then when I was about 14, I found
A pipe under the mattress.
Xanax literally just helped me cope with all of the questions
And all of the uncertainties.
I knew that I had to get away if I wanted any sort of success.
When chantal was 14, she moved to her best friend's house.
And it was so hard to do that because that meant leaving
My brothers behind, and I wasn't going to be there to make sure
That everything was going to be ok.
When chantal decided to move out,
I didn't stop her because I knew the home she was going to
Was a clean environment.
But when I look back on things, I
Wish I could have provided an environment where
It was stable the entire time.
And I would definitely change that.
Despite the living situation, chantal did get good grades
And graduated by the time she was 18.
[music playing]
When chantal was getting married, I was happy about it,
But it was a very emotional time for her.
And I found out that there was just--
Some bad things were going on.
Before getting married, my husband was prince charming,
But everything changed after we got married.
He started getting violent, and once he--
He slammed me in the bathroom.
[music playing]
She pulled away from the family.
But when we did see her, that's when
We started seeing the difference in her physical appearance.
[music playing]
A year after my divorce I started dating a friend.
From what I knew of him, it was a great guy.
But chantal and her new boyfriend
Had their battles with heroin addiction.
But I could see that they were trying,
And I felt like, hey it's good.
They can help each other.
[music playing]
I woke up, found out I was pregnant,
And stopped doing drugs at the drop of a hat.
My maternal instincts kicked in, and I was done.
After chantal found out she was pregnant,
Her and her boyfriend moved into a really nice condo
That his parents provided.
She had a nice place to live.
She had everything going for her.
I was extremely proud of her.
Holding my son for the first time was indescribable.
[music playing]
The miracle of it all is just so amazing.
She immediately was in mom-mode.
She was a great mother.
She couldn't wait to, you know, do every little thing for him.
She just loved it.
For once in her life she was happy.
It's like I had a prayer answered.
Chantal had everything going for her
After she had her baby, until she made one bad decision.
With that one decision, everything changed.
This is hard to talk about.
It is too painful to even think about.
Chantal had everything going for her
After she had her baby, until she made one bad decision.
My son was about six months old,
And my baby-daddy came home from work one day
And suggested that we get high.
Chantal losing her son devastated her.
It gave her no more reason to live.
It's been about four years since I've seen my son.
It's so hard for me to say this, but the facts are that I've
Chosen drugs over my son.
So that pain is unbearable, really.
[crying]
I see the parallels between chantal and her mother.
She doesn't have a mother role model.
And when we don't have the skills
As parents, how are we going to pass that onto our kids?
[music playing]
Not long after being kicked out of her condo,
Chantal ended up living with her mom.
Christine was still actively using meth,
So when chantal moved in with christine,
They became like roommates, buddies, and using partners.
[music playing]
This is actually like four or five grams of fentanyl.
The first time I tried fentanyl, it literally just helped
Me cope with all of the pain.
I didn't even ever want to stop.
I thought things were bad five years ago,
But right now chantal has just spiraled out of control.
Ow, for some reason this is burning.
Her overdoses started happening
More and more in the last year.
And I know it's because she's away from her son.
I've lost track of the number of times
I've heard of her overdosing.
I'm surprised she's not dead already.
[music playing]
My hair feels so much better from--
Just from that trim, because it had been probably
Two years since you trimmed it.
The place we're living now I moved into a little
Over three years ago.
And then my daughter, she moved in right then with me.
How did you become so perfect mother?
I'm not perfect by any means, but I do know you
Because you are my daughter.
I never had a sister, and.
I never needed one, because I have you.
You've given me nothing but love.
You've shown me unconditional love--
That's true.
--And that's all I've needed in life.
Thank you.
That's true.
She's comfortable enough around me to use around me
Because she knows I accept her for who
She is, regardless if she's using her drugs or not.
Do you like your curls under, or do you like--
Well, first of all, it's not supposed to be a curl,
It's supposed to be a wave.
Ok.
You do-- you do one-- - ok.
Well, you know, you didn't do too bad.
Not too shabby.
Seriously, mom, why don't you want
To like, build up your clientele?
My feet hurt.
I'm so tired.
That's the lamest excuse ever.
It's not that I don't want to do hair.
I just want to do it differently.
When I was younger, I worked as a hairdresser.
I do enjoy doing it.
My creativity comes out when I do it.
I want my own shop--
Ok, well, then--
--And I wanted to sell hair out of a wig store.
But that's not doing hair.
I want to do the wigs.
I want more for her, you know?
She has so much more potential, and she's still young.
She's-- it's not too late.
She's only 52.
Do you have a foil or something you want me to put this in?
Yeah.
I get it.
Unfortunately, not only have I been
Using fentanyl for the past five or six years--
This one's mine.
I know.
You sweet child of mine.
--My mom's been doing it just as long.
I was using meth, probably, 20 years
Before I ever tried fentanyl.
Hope my dad doesn't see that.
It's not that I like fentanyl so much, but it makes you sick.
If you try to get off of it, it's horrible.
So instead of being sick, I would rather use it.
The day a parent uses drugs with their child,
That's kind of shocking.
[music playing]
I pay for the drugs right now through the stimulus
And through the edd.
Can I see your torch?
When I think about chantal and christine
During fentanyl together, I'm just devastated.
I'm devastated because it just shows
Me how broken both of them are.
I think it's like the worst case of family dysfunction
Ever.
And it will continue until they die.
[music playing]
If I have to clean it up I will.
Hold up.
I know.
Thank you.
Actually I just use because I like to get high off the smell.
[laughter]
Chantal and I are not the only ones
Addicted to fentanyl in the apartment.
My boyfriend tim uses fentanyl too.
Right now, I use fentanyl and speed.
The high from fentanyl just helps you sleep.
So when you don't do fentanyl, you're just-- you're just up.
It's a crazy drug.
Don't understand why people do it.
I don't even know why I do it. [laughing]
Thank you. Are you done?
Christine, her boyfriend, and chantal all
Live together in the small studio apartment.
I don't mean to be pushy, but responsibility
Has got to come first.
We're supposed to go apply for food stamps right now.
I forgot about that.
But my other two boys, jordan and joey, live there as well.
- Are you ready to roll, joey? - Yeah.
Not only do we live in such close quarters,
But my family is pretty tight-knit, you know?
We all look out for each other.
Just clear the one--
Burgers. - I am.
Thank you.
Come on joey.
My family pays for food and basic necessities
Through the welfare system.
Let's go.
Sometimes we don't always have it, but we seem to manage--
We manage somehow.
We're going to get food stamps, bro.
20 minutes, you got to hurry up.
I pretty much help my family in any way,
Shape, or form that I can.
Anybody needs a ride, if anybody needs something done,
You know, we'll get it done.
Jordan is the older brother, so he's
Like the man of the house.
He's always making sure his brother is ok.
I'm very proud of jordan.
Help.
Jordan helps me.
Like me and my brother, we grew up together,
And he knows that-- some of the hard things that we have
Been through, and he's there for me every time I need something.
Joey.
I used to help my family quite a bit,
But I can't give them anymore.
I'm done.
Thank you so much.
I recently just was cut off of my unemployment,
So we applied for food stamps, and then we
Got it, so it all worked out.
Pretty much.
Yeah, we did good.
But I'm exhausted right now.
Man: Yeah.
Why am I so tired?
My kids, they know how much I love them,
But chantal is not my only child addicted to fentanyl.
My other two boys, jordan and joey, they're addicted,
As well.
Everybody who lives in the apartment
Is addicted to fentanyl.
My siblings and I all got addicted to fentanyl
About five to six years ago.
Fentanyl takes away all the stress and everything
That a normal person deals with on a daily basis.
I don't really think about those things
As much as I probably should.
Don't kill it now.
Save me some.
- It's a painkiller. - Ya know.
I always kind of just found it as a way
To, like, get through hard things, you know?
When he was little, I remember jordan
Always wanting to be a marine.
I just think he's proud of his country.
I went to the recruiting office when I was 18,
But I had already multiple offenses
For possession of marijuana.
So they weren't going to allow me to join.
That's the only thing I'd ever wanted to do,
Was join the marine corps.
That was the only passion I had, so, yeah,
It was pretty devastating.
Not long after being denied to join the marine corps, I--
I messed up and started using heroin a lot.
[music playing]
And then four years ago, I switched
From heroin to fentanyl.
Within six months, I was smoking between a half gram
To a gram a day of fentanyl.
And a gram to two grams of meth every day.
Do you want any of that?
Joey wanted to go in the military
Like his older brother, also.
But joey started using drugs around 16,
And I think he was using xanax and the oxys.
I believe that joey first turned to drugs
To be like his brother.
He idolized his older brother.
Joey and I as kids were, like, best friends, you know?
Definitely inseparable, and for the most part,
I've always shared a room with him.
They live together, use together,
And help each other out.
I don't know how they think that that's safe,
But to them, they're caring for each other.
In jordan's bed in garden grove.
Where do you think we are?
In the ocean?
Joey is not only addicted to fentanyl,
But he's suffering from some serious drug-induced
Mental health issues, as well.
Seems like this thing is after me again, isn't it?
The boogie man.
He, like, hears voices, and he's,
You know, he's talking about things that aren't, like, true.
Like
What-- wait.
Do you hear that?
I hear somebody screaming and crying.
I feel that it was triggered by his drug use,
And I know at this point that the drugs are destroying
Joey's mental health.
I--, I-- (bleep)
I can't do this right now.
[music playing]
I'm here checking on my family,
As I do almost every day.
It's always interesting when I show up,
Never know what's going to happen
When I walk through that door.
Hey, jordan.
[inaudible].
Chan.
So how's chantal?
She's asleep.
Chan.
Is she breathing dad?
My role is to make sure they keep
Living and function day to day.
On average, I'm there three, four, five nights a week.
At any moment any one of them could overdose, any one of them
Could die.
Jordan--
Yeah.
--Let's go hook up that third light.
I think-- yeah, I mean, that would be cool.
You want to come outside and get me started?
Wait, because I'm going to take a hit just real quick.
My dad's worried about all of us, but he's kind of just
Grown to accept the fact that he can't change what we do.
Jordan--
No, we're good. What's up.
What's up, (bleep) you ready?
Ready?
Yeah, I'm ready.
Ok.
It's been a while since I've seen chantal like that.
Yeah, it's the xanax, man, she slams that (bleep).
Eventually, at one point of the day,
She gets-- she gets like that every day.
And how about joey?
I don't know.
I can't tell you-- - I know.
--Anything about him.
- He slipped away. - [inaudible].
Like he'll just have, like, a blank look on his face, like--
Like he's just not there, dude.
I'm sure he's having a problem with determining
What's real and what isn't.
Because why else would he do that?
Joey has od'd at least twice in the last six months.
And one of them I was there for.
Joey: Joey.
Joey: Yeah.
I can't tell you how many people have od'd in this place.
So I always tell these guys if you're going to do drugs
This deadly get some narcan.
What are you doing?
And ever since then, they've had narcan,
And they've used it many times.
I don't condone it, but the years
Of lecturing and talking down to them about it,
They don't even hear me.
I don't even hear me.
From what I understand, the last time
Joey od'd, took two narcan.
It's (bleep) up you have to do that to your brother.
Really?
Oh, my god.
How come I don't hear about these things?
So this is my life, and this is their life,
And I choose to be in it.
Dylan.
Oh, my gosh.
Hi.
Hey.
Dylan is my fourth child.
The last time I saw her was about two or three years ago.
What?
I look older?
Yeah.
She grew up differently than these kids here.
They had a different mother.
She's got a good head on her shoulders.
You're the only one that looks just like me.
[laughing] I flew out for my family's intervention because I
Know how serious this is, and I really want my siblings to know
How much I do care about them, even though they
Are not in my life very much.
I want to know what's--
What's really going on.
Like don't sugarcoat it and put it how you always try to.
Ok, so they literally do nothing all day.
So unhelpful.
They're not even people anymore.
They're zombies.
They're sleestaks.
When I was nine, I went to california,
And I was able to meet all of my siblings,
And it was like an instant connection with all of them.
Like I've known them my whole life,
But the last time I saw my siblings
Was about nine years ago.
I'll tell you one thing, they're all still alive,
And they shouldn't be.
If they don't get help are you going
To stop providing for them?
I've stopped-- I've slowly stopped.
What I do now for them is virtually nothing.
You 100% enable them, and you always have.
You've always provided drugs.
I give them money, and they bought drugs with it.
You knew that [inaudible].
But every time I handed them money,
I said, please don't buy drugs.
This is so you can live, not so you can die.
Buy yourself a sandwich, get some drinks.
But you knew what they were buying.
[music playing]
I think the situation with my family
Is unhealthy because they are all enabling each other
And making each other more sick.
This intervention is so crucial because I really feel that it's
The last chance that we have.
I'm glad that you care enough to continue to try and help.
My name is sylvia parsons, and I am a board
Registered interventionist.
I am working this intervention with consigli
Because the whole family uses fentanyl, one of the most
Lethal drugs around today.
And it's going to take two of us to strategize how
To get them all into treatment.
They all live together and use together.
They have to walk around to see if this person's breathing
Or that person's breathing.
Do we need narcan?
Do we need to call 9-1-1?
This is a crisis intervention.
I want to meet with chantal's grandparents
Today because I can learn more about chantal,
About her mother, about all the family members that suffer
From the disease of addiction.
Woman: Come on in. Sylvia parsons: Hey, there.
I'm sylvia.
Woman: Nice to meet you.
Ladies, I'm so excited to meet you.
I'm so proud that you're here.
Your families in some trouble.
We're going to talk about that.
And I'm so happy that you're willing to support them.
It's a life saving event.
Whatever it takes, that's what I will do.
Good.
Ilene, I want to ask you about christine.
Do you know how old she was when she first started experimenting
With drugs or alcohol?
I think christine was maybe around 11,
Because we had alcohol in our home
Because her father is an alcoholic.
So christine's dad's an alcoholic?
Yeah. Yeah.
Did they ever drink together?
Oh, yeah.
You know, I didn't like it at all, but--
That was a bond for them.
You know, I was a very good enabler.
I just, you know, cleaned up after them
And took care of them like christine
Does now with her kids.
Cathleen, how do you think the situation with this family,
That is so addicted and so sick, what kind of toll
Do you think that's actually taking on joe?
He said he copes with drinking.
It relaxes him.
It's easy for him to deal with it.
Do you think he has addiction issues, joe?
A few years ago I heard that when they were first married,
Christine and joe were into the drugs together.
From the time chantal was about four
To the time she was about six, I indulged
In the use of methamphetamine with christine.
Christine offered and she convinced me,
Because I loved my wife, and she said that it would be
Good for us, and it'd be fun.
The first time I snorted the meth
It gave me energy all night, and I thought, this is great.
Let's get some more.
We would lock the door and go in our bedroom and use.
And chantal had no idea what we were doing.
Do you think he might be using now because he's
Around that family so much?
I don't know, but how can you not?
I think that we need to be prepared
For a lot of different things in this intervention.
One of those things is joe.
I think he has become addicted to the family again.
And the family is addicted to fentanyl, which
Leads me to believe that joe might
Be slipping back into his old habits
Of drug and alcohol abuse.
It's definitely a family disease.
They're all sick, and we're going to try to get them well.
You all right?
Is she feeling any better?
She's having-- she's been having an attack all night.
Are you serious?
Yeah.
Sometimes my mom gets these heart complications,
And it's when she usually drinks, or, like,
Strains her body too much.
But she's supposed to be taking medication for it,
But I think she ran out of those.
[music playing]
Oh, what's she doing outside?
I'll go.
I just need a quiet, peaceful moment where I can just not
Have anything in my brain distracting me
So I can concentrate on my breathing,
So I can convert back to a regular heartbeat.
Fentanyl helps to make somebody feel better that uses it,
So when they get something that usually
Helps them a little bit.
I just offered it because, you know,
This is what I usually do.
I guess it seems to be working a little bit, so--
[laughs]
My relationship with jordan is very loving and close,
And he knows that I get scared, and he'll make me feel better.
[music playing]
My name is ken seeley.
I am a certified intervention professional,
And I have been doing interventions
For over 20 years.
Sylvia parsons (on phone): Sylvia parsons.
Hey, sylvia.
Sylvia parsons (on phone): Hey, ken.
Listen, I met chantal's grandmothers today,
And I learned something interesting about the dad too.
Ok.
Sylvia parsons (on phone): They mentioned that he had been
Drinking more, and he definitely has a history
Of using methamphetamine.
And that really concerns me because he's with the family
All the time now, and I just can't imagine that he hasn't
Started using drugs again.
Yeah, that sounds like a big red flag.
You know, in order for this to work everybody
Has got to be on the same page, and they've got to be sober.
Sylvia parsons (on phone): That's exactly how I feel.
All right.
Well, thank you for letting me know.
I'm going to ask him tonight and get to the bottom of it.
All right.
Bye now.
What concerns me about joe possibly using and doing
Drugs is he could sabotage this whole thing when people
Are going, well, you do it too.
You're using too.
How come you're not getting help?
And that could blow up right in our face.
So I'm going to have to confront joe
About his possible substance abuse
When I meet him tonight, because I need to know the facts.
I need to know what I'm working with.
Joe, ken. Joe: Hi, ken.
Ken seeley: Pleasure.
Joe: Nice to meet you.
So how are things going?
Very hopeful.
Hopeful?
Yes.
So now, what is your role in the family?
Oh, that's a good question.
I don't think I have a role anymore.
I've overstayed my welcome.
I've cared too much, and I've tried too hard, too long.
They don't want to see my face.
- Really? - Yeah.
None of them?
I don't think so.
So how hard is it for you to be around the family
Right now with the way everything is?
Right now I should have pulled away a while ago,
But part of me said, even though I need to,
I can't, because if one of them dies
I'd never live with myself.
I know that when I did try, things got worse, a lot worse.
One day, joey and chantal od'd, and I
Was going to two hospitals for two of my kids
That I didn't know if they were alive.
Oh, god.
So I'm all out of options.
I've tried everything.
So I have to ask you, because you're around a lot of drug
Use, are you using drugs now?
There was a time when we were a normal family.
You bullshit, get out of my room.
Man: Hey jordan. - What?
- Do you want to come help me? - Oh, not right this second.
Christine, you want to help?
Those days are over.
Don't make me scared to be around you.
Man: Chantal.
Is she breathing?
This is the largest intervention I've ever done.
I've never seen a family as sick and broken as this family.
Chantal and her mom have said if the boys don't
Go they're not going to go.
We got to get them out of here right now.
If they say no, that could sabotage
This whole intervention.