A woman who was once an elite Irish dancer resists her family’s efforts to save her from a life of cocaine and heroin addiction. Katie was the star of her family. She was smart, outgoing and traveled the world as an elite Irish dancer. It could have made it her
At 14, Lauren was forced to become caretaker to her ill father. By 18, she was a mother herself. Seven years and three kids later, Lauren's father died and she turned to pills to cope.
Mike lost his brother to cancer and his sister to suicide. This triggered a tragic downward spiral. Mike's nightly habit of having a few beers quickly turned into raging alcoholism. Mike agreed to give up drinking. Unfortunately, he replaced alcohol with heroin.
The anguished family of a former soccer prodigy hope an intervention is the push this 24-year-old needs to stop using drugs and giving up a dangerous lifestyle that includes prostitution.
Theresa swore she wouldn't end up like her mother who was a raging alcoholic. However, years later after several failed relationships and children, Theresa finds herself drinking uncontrollably--to the point that even cirrhosis of the liver isn't enough to make her stop. Her daughter says she's at rock bottom, close
While still a child, Zach's father was incarcerated, and Zach and his sister were adopted by their loving grandparents. When Zach's father was released from jail he moved in with the grandparents, hoping for a fresh start. It didn't take long for his father to fall off the wagon, and
Daniel could have pursued a career as a songwriter, but a series of personal tragedies culminating in his father's death led him to abuse a dangerous combination of alcohol and meth. Recently Daneil resumed a romantic relationship with Sarrah, a fellow addict who supplies Daniel with alcohol, and their booze-fuled
When Sam was 6 her life took a drastic turn when her parents divorced and her father moved away. At 14, Sam's life changed forever when she was sexually assaulted. She turned to a life of partying, fueled by alcohol and Ecstasy. A fast downward spiral into heroin followed and
Suffering post-traumatic stress after being molested as a child, Mindie developed a drug habit in her teens that gave way to a full-on meth addiction in her 20's.
A talented singer-songwriter, Bryceton's addicton to alcohol and spice (synthetic marijuana) is completely out of control. His wife struggles to raise their son while coping with Bryceton's erratic behavior, but she's fighting a losing battle.
A difficult relationship with his parents led Matthew to experiment with drugs. But when a drug test came back positive, he lost custody of his son and went from part-time user to full-blown addict.
Olivia's life was changed forever when she was repeatedly molested by a relative at age 11. Successive traumas into adulthood have led her to mask her emotional pain by injecting a dangerous combination of heroin and meth. Meanwhile, her grandmother is ill with stage 4 cancer--and the family worries they'll
Amanda's world was thrown into a tailspin when her husband went missing for months. When his body was finally found, the victim of a high profile murder, she went off the deep end and found escape in drugs. Now her children are in state custody and she's shooting heroin to
When James first tried meth, he'd thought he'd found a wonder drug to give him the energy for a demanding job, marraige, and fatherhood. But the resulting addiction and sprial took all of those things away from him. Now his ex-wife is trying to save his life so their sons
The sons and nephew of Major League Baseball stars, David struggled not only with being compared to his athletic family, but also with his own sexuality. Acting out turned to alcoholism and meth addiciton, and it wasn't long before David found himself dumpster diving and sleeping behind stores in his
Erin spent her teens and 20's as an A-list rock-n-roll groupie, but a prescription to relieve neck pain got her hooked on Dialudid. Now her mother raises her 5 year old son while Erin prostitutes herself to maintain her habit. Her family calls on Sylvia Parsons, who was intervened on
At the age of 14, Joshua was badly beaten by his girlfriend's father - two years later he was molested by the leader of his youth group. He turned to heroin to cope with his traumas.
Carrie was a yong boxer with a shot at going pro, but losing an important fight triggered the trauma of being deserted by her father and she turned to drugs to cope. Now Carrie's boxing career is on hold, she's living on the streets and hustling for her next fix.
After his mother died, Kayne turned to drugs to cope, which eventually cost him his marriage and the custody of his children. This drove him further into his addition and now he spends each day getting high on a deadly combination of heroin and Xanax.
The black sheep of a successful family, Justin got hooked in prescription opiates after he was run over by a truck. Now he begs, borrows, and steals from family and friends to maintain his methadone and heroin habit.
Hailing from a small seaside town in Nova Scotia, Barry, 50, was born into a life of alcoholism and turmoil. The victim of childhood abuse at the hands of a close relative, Barry learned to drink with his alcoholic mother as a boy. Both were seeking a way to kill
Jessica is smart as tack with a lust for life. Unfortunately, it's the life of a heroin addict, living in an abandoned building, being shot up by a boyfriend, that she is committed to. Having spent her youth yearning for an absent, alcoholic father, Jessica followed the footprint of addiction
Once a vibrant supermom, Dana numbs the haunting memories of almost dying in an apartment fire with a dangerous cocktail of crack and prescription pills.
As a teenager, Ryan was on the fast track to professional BMX racing until his mother's suicide attempt sidelined his life. Ryan turned to drugs to deal with the trauma and silence around it. Now, at 23, he lives in his parents basement using and dealing heroin, enabled by his
As a young girl, Kaila, 19, was raised in an affluent, image-conscious community where she felt teased for being overweight, and overlooked by her parents. Now, at a mere 80 pounds and eating only a few hundred calories a day, Kaila is literally starving herself to death to have what
Eric, 31, has been known by his family for being funny, generous and full of life. But his downward spiral into addiction has replaced all of his amazing traits and turned him into a junkie who hustles, steals and pawns.
Elena, 63, has no intentions of stopping her daily meth addiction, even though her children and grandchildren desperately want their adoring grandmother to get well.
Twenty-five year-old Katie uses her eating disorder and binge drinking to cope with her mother's secret alcoholism and parents war with each other while her worried siblings pray someone can step in and save them all.
Former 'Super Mom' to her three children, Diana has exchanged her apron for an alcohol and meth addiction and is unraveling her marriage, family and sense of self-respect.
A family begging her to get help and two overdoses in the last two weeks don't phase 21-year-old Britney as she fearlessly shoots up suboxone and bath salts up to 30 times a day.
Thirty-one year-old Amanda has exchanged her dreams of teaching for an alcohol and heroin addiction, while her family erupts in anger over her dad's chronic enabling
Attractive, charismatic 41 year-old twins, Susie and Miriam, battle crack and alcohol addictions and each other as their career success and families slowly slip away.
Ryan, 25, is a sweet, sensitive man whose alcohol addiction is spiraling out of control as he and his fiance are expecting their first child in a matter of months.
Al, a big guy with a big personality, is sacrificing his relationships with his wife and children to chase his out-of-control meth and painkiller addiction.
Megan is a 24-year-old addict who turned to drugs to kill the excruciating pain she experienced as a young teen after her innocence was stolen by her mother's boyfriend. Today, Megan's life is at a critical point and she is facing a long stint in prison with her next mistake.
Kelly, a 27-year-old mother of three, mixes pills and meth to forget the man behind bars who destroyed her childhood. Can Kelly's family come together to help her face the painful past that consumes her?
Nick, 23, uses his business talents to deal in heroin rather than business. Once the apple of his father's eye and destined to carry on his successful business practices, Nick's early rule-breaking and experimentation in drugs landed him as the black sheep of the family. Now abandoned by his family,
Sandi, 64, is a vivacious, spunky and fun grandmother who loves gardening. But as her drinking escalates throughout the day, Sandi turns her gin-fueled anger on her 88-year-old mother and her 45-year-old daughter, alienating everyone in her wake.
Alissa, 19 is a smart and fearless teenager who uses bath salts to mask her inner pain. Alissa must make peace with her estranged father in order to break free from her dangerous lifestyle and her self-destructive cycle.
56-year-old Terry, a charismatic businessman, spiritual leader and father, was destroying his legacy with his crack addiction and taking his adoring son down with him.
When her rock and best friend, her grandmother Elena, went away to treatment, Sarah, 21, spiraled out of control. Today, in denial of her own addiction, Sarah is on the same path of addiction her grandmother was on just six months ago. This cycle of addiction must stop in this
Tiffany is a 19-year-old, doe-eyed, innocent looking young woman who treks to the seediest parts of Baltimore to score heroin while her family tries to pray the "devil" out of her.
A gregarious man with an intense personality, 32 year-old Sean's alcohol addiction is causing him to blackout and suffer seizures, which have his wife and family on edge.
In an Intervention first that reveals a surprising outcome, we reach out to 18-year-old Andrew who once dreamed of a military career, but now binges and purges up to 12 times a day.
A beautiful 21-year-old addicted to Norco and meth, Christina has violent outbursts, believes that bugs are crawling under her skin, and has threatened suicide. Can an intervention save Christina before she loses her mind entirely?
Strikingly beautiful with a great sense of humor, Dallas is nevertheless addicted to heroin and lives on the streets. After her mother attempted suicide, Dallas turned to drugs to deal with the confusion and pain.
A 34-year-old gay man, Richard grew up knowing he was different and never feeling accepted. His stepfather disciplined him severely for his effeminate behavior.
To the outside world, Kimberly lives a dream life in an extravagant mansion without a financial care in the world. But the "dream" is really a nightmare because Kimberly is an alcoholic with no limits.
Once a supermom who took her kids to soccer practice and kept a spotless home, Suzon's life spiraled out of control. Now she lives with her new boyfriend, collects scrap metal, and sells prescription drugs to pay for crack. Suzon needs an intervention, but her mother threatens to hijack the
Jessa's meth and alcohol addiction have caused her to hole up in the her parents' basement, drinking and using drugs until she blacks out, punches walls, and even attempts suicide. An intervention is desperately needed before Jessa overdoses and dies right under her parents' noses.
When Skyler was a kid, his mother pushed him to do modeling and TV work, but the tension drove Skyler to drugs. Now he uses the new synthetic drug "bath salts," which cause him to hallucinate. Can an intervention save Skyler's sanity--and his life?
Now 40, Julie has often turned to food and alcohol to find comfort in tough times. She had gastric bypass surgery when her weight ballooned, but now she spends her son's child support money on beer and 90-proof peppermint schnapps. She has a failing liver and constant blackouts, often waking
Nicknamed the "junkie princess" by her drug-abusing friends, Courtney, 20, injects heroin up to eight times a day and prostitutes herself to finance her own and her boyfriend's addiction. But now Courtney's mother, sister, and grandmother are planning an intervention in one last-ditch attempt to convince her to leave her
As a child, Kaylene was physically abused by her father. Later, she and her mother began using coke together. Now Kaylene is a 21-year-old who oozes sweetness and charm but who is unafraid to die and will stop at nothing to get her next fix. After so many years of
Once a stunning model and devoted mother, Terry binges on vodka every day to escape her mother's taunts and her father's neglect. She ignores her doctor's warning that she will be dead in six months if she doesn't stop drinking.
Sean was once a popular DJ and charismatic crowd-pleaser, but now he's rapidly going downhill due to his extreme alcoholism. Sean struggled as a child, growing up in a rough neighborhood with an openly gay father. Today, he spends his days and nights drinking himself to death. He desperately needs
Brittany once dreamed of becoming a police officer to protect people from the traumas that she faced as a child. But at 22, her goal is slipping away. She's a heroin addict who sells her body to get her next high. Can Brittany's family convince her that it's not too
Like Romeo and Juliet on heroin, Mikeal and Sarah are a poor boy and a rich girl who have found sanctuary in each other's pain. Sarah's family feels that Mikeal has corrupted their daughter, taking Sarah from a casual pill abuser to a full-blown heroin addict. But now both families
Eddie, an All-American baseball player in college with offers to play in the majors, was pursuing two master's degrees but school pressure and his father's overbearing expectations pushed Eddie to drink and gamble heavily. His addictions have left him divorced, homeless, and in legal trouble due to five DUI charges.
A mother of three, Latisha will go to any lengths to feed her crack addiction, including prostitution. Having been abandoned by her own parents because of their addictions, she's happy with her life and just wants her family to get off her back, but the needs of her young daughter
Growing up with parents who demanded hard work, Larry rebelled with a life of crime. Today, he drinks a fifth of brandy a day even though he's a spiritual man whose religion prohibits alcohol. Can an intervention save Larry from being ostracized by his spiritual community?
Megan is struggling with her own demons. Her mother divorced and remarried, but Megan never felt included in her new family. She became an addict and even turned to prostitution to pay for her drugs. Can Megan still realize the dreams she once had of becoming a lawyer or professor?
Living in a small Hawaiian village, Penny-Lee has an infectious laugh and loves to have fun. But despite having a good family life and four children to be proud of, she's an out-of-control alcoholic who spends most of her time alone, screaming and crying out to no one as she
Shantel uses OxyContin to cope with learning and mood disorders and to find friends in the drug culture. An overprotective mother provides her with money, and now Shantel, who faces potential jail time for a robbery, spends her days feeding her addiction in a motel.
Luke, 23, dreams of a career in photojournalism, but his daily cocktail of drugs has derailed his college plans and left both him and his mother struggling to survive on the streets of San Francisco.
Tiffany, a former athlete and cheerleader who dreamed of a career in the medical field, has no intention of giving up her IV crystal meth addiction, despite the fact that her four-year-old son is being cared for by her family
Ricardo, is a dedicated dad of three on weekends, but suffers from a daily addiction to meth which threatens to destroy his health, professional success, and relationship with his children.
Brittney saw her food addiction transformed into a raging alcohol addiction after gastric bypass surgery. Now she stands to lose her family as they grow weary of her alcohol-fueled antics
Michelle, 30, looks like an aging mother of two who takes a daily concoction of methadone, Xanax, and blood pressure pills to keep her identity as an edgy party girl alive, while her family begs her to wake up to the harm that her addiction has caused them. Now the
A college graduate who now works as a genealogist, Jeff can't give up his 30-cans-of-beer-per-day habit even though his health is failing, he recently lost his wife, and his children are struggling to cope with the loss of their mother. Now Jeff faces a choice--his life or his beer. Can
Jeanna conquered generations of addiction until the murder of her four-year-old son sent her spiraling into a $100-a-day meth addiction. An intervention is the only way to help Jeanna start to heal her troubled soul.
A drug addict living on the streets, Rachel uses her "street kid" lifestyle to defy society and her father, with whom she's had a strained relationship since her parents' divorce. Rachel started experimenting with cocaine and meth at 14, and using heroin at 16. She survived on the streets with
Once a football player with a bright future, Darick dropped out of school to get married when his girlfriend got pregnant. Darick loved being a father, but when his marriage ended, Darick learned his daughter was not his biological child, and he was denied all contact with her.
Felix was abandoned by her father at age three, molested by a stranger at five, and ridiculed in middle school for her skin color. Now Felix is struggling with heroin and desperately needs an intervention.
Erin is a strong-willed Texan who relies on her good looks to get what she wants, which is meth. Erin got tired of being a mother and wife and began a drug-induced party lifestyle. Now Erin's marriage is in pieces and her daughter has been sent to live with relatives.
Raised by an absentee alcoholic father, Jimmy joined a gang at 13 and was soon addicted to heroin. The birth of Jimmy's son prompted him to try to get clean, but when things got tough with his new family, he began using again.
Cassie, 22, is a crack and oxycodone addict who was abandoned by her mother and raised by her father and his string of wives. At 13, she was sent to an overseas behavior modification school that offered her little more than imprisonment and abuse. She escaped into a life of
Jimbo's addiction to painkillers has already resulted in a devastating injury and a strained relationship with his devoted dad. Unable to stop using he now spends his days snorting drugs and flying into rages that have terrorized his family and community. Can an intervention stop this small-town menace?
Jenna, 28, once a sweet natured and compassionate young girl, endured a brutal childhood that still haunts her and her siblings. Today she steals and manipulates her family to support her destructive heroin habit. Can Jenna and her siblings overcome their past to work together as a family and get
An ambitious inventor and entrepreneur, Benny once dreamed of becoming a millionaire. But stress, drugs, and alcohol have turned his dream into a nightmare. Worst of all, he is no longer a dependable father to his six-year-old daughter.
Once happy-go-lucky, Megan, 25, is now a volatile drug addict who scares her family with her unchecked anger. A child of neglect, Megan is now enabled and financed by her guilt-ridden mother. She spends her days drinking and smoking crack. How will Megan react when confronted by her family in
After the tragic and shocking loss of her two young children years ago, Maryanne turned to alcohol to cope with the pain. Today Maryanne is the mother of three, but her inability to stay sober has jeopardized the safety of her children. She's lost custody of two and lives in
At a teen, Jamie did drugs and abused alcohol to deal with her traumatic upbringing. At 21, she turned to the church and got sober, but then the fatal overdose of her twin sister triggered a relapse. Now Jamie suffers from alcohol-induced pancreatitis and has suicidal tendencies. As Jamie's family
Tiffany, a former beauty queen, has always wanted the family she never had. Now, after ten years of using crystal meth and looking for love in all the wrong places, Tiffany may lose the one thing she values most, her one-year-old daughter. Her family is terrified that they're going to
A talkative, eccentric, antiques collector, Michael, 52, was a military brat who moved with his family all over Europe and the U.S. But what he really wanted was a stable, loving home. After a series of traumatic events, Michael began to do drugs, and now he's a rambling, self-loathing addict.
very day, Donna, 47, and her son, Josh, 20, cause a storm of drinking, fighting, and chaos in the overcrowded home they share with Donna's sister, mother, and a stable-full of dogs and cats. Raised by alcoholic parents, Donna was exposed to violence and abuse at an early age, and
Adam was once one of top skiers in the United States. As a Marine, he served in 15 countries, including Iraq and Afghanistan on terrorist-related missions. But when he came back home from overseas, he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and started drinking. His alcohol abuse is ruining his
A charismatic reverend at a wedding chapel, Miriam, 38, is adored by her clients, but suffers inner torment. Sexually abused as a child by someone she trusted, Miriam turned to drugs at a young age, and now she's addicted to P.C.P. Her family has practically given up on her, and
Once bright, likable, and athletic, Andrew has become a gaunt, menacing OxyContin addict. As a child, Andrew learned to manipulate his father, Dan, who now admits, "I can't stand up to Andrew. He'll threaten to commit crimes and trash our motel room. I'd rather give him money for a pill
When Amber was molested as a young child, she bottled up her emotions. She began binge eating, and became bulimic because she wanted to be popular and beautiful like her older sister.