Season 14, Episode 1
Katie Y.
Age: 28
Location: Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Addiction: Heroin, Crack
What’s memorable: “I don’t get high, I get un-sick.” Sitting on the couch doing drugs all day every day, having dentures because the drugs rotted her teeth, 13 failed rehab attempts. I think I was most struck by the fact that there was no addiction trigger, she apparently just got in with the wrong crowd. It’s hard to understand how anyone could go so far down this path without a trigger to start the self-medication.
Official Synopsis: 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 career – but she got derailed into a life of cocaine and heroin addiction.
Original Air Date: March 2015
Interventionist: Candy
So disappointed!Not at all
What I expected!
I actually know those buildings well…I’m from the same area and many stories echo hers. Herion and crack are an epidempic in Wilkes barre. Ive been an active addict myself 22yrs in and off Herion. She was given a gift and it is always sad to see somebody relapse however I don’t feel it’s anybody’s place to judge. I think it’s counterproductive to showing addicts there is hope and a positive life style available. As an addict we tend to put ourselves down more than anybody could imagine. When your dealing with somebody with a long term addiction like myself you have to consider all the sub conscious conditioning that is place. it really does take time for old behaviors to die….it’s almost not her fault as much as its a failed society and lack of progressive treatment. I’m not saying she’s not accountable however what good is a mechanic if he only has a hammer in his tool box?
I’m from the Wilkes-Barre area, too. It’s a terrible problem in the area, along with “Spice” now. I know a few people that know Katie and she hasn’t changed a bit. It’s very sad. I feel for her family.
Actually she’s doing really well right now I just got out of rehab not too long ago with her she’s a great girl and it’s a privilege to be a friend of hers now
Shannon, are you Katies sister? I saw the episode and I can’t help but feel sad for her and her family. I think about her often and hope she is doing better or at least safe. Katie is so young and really does have potential. Addiction is so misunderstood by people and those that have not dealt with someone who has an addiction, shouldn’t say anything.
Real sad that you didn’t do it all the way Katie……. Thought you were gonna do it…….
What happened in the end??? My PVR cut out after they said that she refused to transition to a sober living facility. Did she relapse?
She looked so much better during the follow up! But she didn’t seem happy at all. Almost seemed like she was just going through the motions.
I read that she went back to home relapsed and is still struggling with her addiction…not sure if it’s true, but my DVR cut off at the same point as yours and I’ve been searching the internet to find out…disappointing!!
Just in rehab with her so, no, she is not doing well. This was as of last week.
she completed 87 days of treatment…never made it to sober living….2 days after being home, she relapsed….family and Andre cut off all contact with her.
Darn those DVRs. Mine also cut off at the same point. I couldn’t agree more, Tee. She seemed like what she was saying meant nothing. She was saying what people wanted to hear.
I set my DVR a minute late on Intervention, the text at the end can run long.
She relapsed and continues to use. Looks like you caught it all.
If you remember her mother said she is a master manipulator. That interview with Candy was 7 days before she left treatment so she was obviously faking the interview.
I believe it also said that her family decided to stop enabling her and cut her off.
This was the first episode I’ve seen that an addict grew up with a loving family, nice area, no trauma or hardships mentioned. She was exposed to drugs by getting in with a certain group of people. – though I had to wonder what prompted her request to change schools followed immediately by the beginning of her drug use. I felt so badly for her family, and was so excited to see how wonderful she looked 85 days into rehab. So sad to see that her plans changed so drastically in her last 9 days of treatment. I know it’s not possible due to confidentiality but I do wish we were able to see a bit more of the rehab experience!
I had the same thought–someone who is having a good experience at school doesn’t ask to transfer schools, especially at that age. And the fact that she made it a point to say “Sorry, no molestation, no trauma, no reason why I got hooked on drugs except for falling in with the wrong people” makes it seem that there is something more there. The family didn’t hint at any sort of trauma, so I am guessing that she is keeping something a secret regarding what happened to her at that age, and she will never be able to get well until she just admits to whatever happened to her and heals from it.
Agreed. I do think something happened to her. She seems quite adamant in distancing herself from those ~other~ addicts. But she’s like them. She’s right down with them. She is no better.
Her family is very foolish in thinking that nothing happened to her. She REQUESTED to change schools? Why? Something happened at her old school. Like you said, teenagers will NOT leave their social group for some really stupid reasons so something bad had to have happened to get a request like that and to follow through with it.
Heroin is a hard drug to kick. I hope she can eventually see she is worth recovery and do better for herself and live instead of just existing.
I went to her first high school with her before she requested a transfer. She was always the snobby rich girl that bad mouthed everyone. Her constant gossip lead everyone to not speak to her. She bad mouthed everyone and anyone it lead to alot of fights in our school. She had to transfer there was not an option. Personally I do not feel bad for her she manipulated people then and always played the victim card.
For the record….we are not snobby rich people!!!! Don’t you ever think maybe it’s the fact that you judge people so quickly!!! How dare you say these things!!! She has a problem!!! Not because she had something crazy happen to her but because she just does!!!!!! Remember the old saying…never throw stones in a glass house!!! And for that matter have some respect for the family that has to deal with her addiction and your asshole comments!!!!
I hope that I am replying to Katie’s sister. I would love to know how your family and you are doing. My mom was an addict and passed away in 2009. I, myself have been in recovery for 8 years now. It is a very hard disease to deal with and battle.
Thanks for your observation…you were there and saw how she was before the addiction. If you though she acted that way because of what you witnessed then that is your observation and very much allowed to offer your observations. Thank you for your time. Don’t allow others to bully you because you have an opinion, they were obviously part of the problem for how Katie became they way she did.
I also want to thank you for sharing with us the observations you made when you knew Katie. 13+ rehabs obviously she manipulates her family to get that many chances. As for Shannon your comment was very snobby so that really didn’t prove your point, it just proved his or hers.
Thank you for your opinion. While I feel sorry for the family, I think Shannon’s comment was a little too harsh. She could have worded it better and still get her point across.
I actually had a feeling it was those types of issues that made her switch schools. Majority of people assume that addicts had some sort of trauma in their life that brought them to where they are now. Yes, many, many people have underlying issues but not everyone. I’m a perfect example of that and I know so many other people who were in the same boat with me.
Perhaps she had a personality disorder or other underlying mental health needs that caused her to consistently bully others. That doesn’t usually come from nowhere. I think having a mental illness can be the only trigger needed.
@Natalie
Don’t say that about people with personality disorders. Nowhere did one get brought up or anything about her having a diagnosis come up. I have Borderline Personality Disorder & I don’t bully people. Don’t stigmatize us with personality disorders. Some people just have a sense of entitlement & are rude in character. Leave us struggling out of it. Thanks
@Samantha you don’t know if she has a personality disorder or not. Even so she wouldn’t act the exact same way as you would because not everyone with the same mental health disorder acts the same way. I’m sorry you struggle with BPD but the way you struggle isnt the only way people with BPD struggle, different people exhibit different behaviors, some more, some less.
My heart breaks for this family. I’m still wondering what triggered her addiction.
she said in the episode that after she asked her family to move when she was 14, she started hanging out with the wrong crowd….
Nothing triggered my addiction… I came from a loving family it’s actually why I eventually got clean… But I just started using because someone I knew with using and I wanted to try it. I was already drinking alcohol when I was 15 for the same reason, I just wanted to feel the high… Not because I wanted to cover up any sadness or anything bad because nothing bad really happened, I just wanted to feel good, and I already felt good, but I wanted to feel high… Then when I was 18 I started using meth for the same reason… I would always use for a year, and then I would quit for about four years and then I would always use again because I would be like doing good and just kind of bored, and wanted to feel high again…it was never when I was doing bad, whenever I was doing bad I never wanted to get high because I knew it would only make things worse. Then I finally got clean off of meth (when I got pregnant and I thought I would never do drugs once I had kids) and it has been over 18 years but I started using opiate pills about eight years after I got clean , after being in the hospital for so long on morphine. I just liked the way it felt so I wanted to continue that feeling so I started getting a prescription of Norcos and then I would get more from other people… And then about two years later, I knew that I wanted to do heroin, but I didn’t know anyone who used it and at that point I had a son and daughter around the ages of seven and 10, so when it got that bad, I went to a clinic to get on methadone, and that saved my life! So I’ve been off opiates for almost 10 years. And now I know that I guess my trigger would be when I’m doing really good and feel bored, i have to make sure that I don’t ever get high even one time, so I have to remind myself how bad it can get it and that’s why I like watching intervention! I hope that Katie is finally sober and doing well and if she’s not, there is always hope!! And I really hope her family is healing and living a happy life!!
Nothing triggered mine either. It all started out as fun and games but it quickly turns into a nightmare.
I really don’t mean to offend or intrude but the way you speak about your drug use and what motivated it belies some type of disconnect whether it be psychological or physiological.
Katie was one of the first addicts to really piss me off. It was all these little things…like having the iPad during the intervention. When she skyped with Candy, I was convinced that she was on a strong road to recovery, until I read that she refused sober living and relapsed.
Was awake all night replaying the episode in my mind… how devastating… my heart is broken for her and her family… said many prayers for all of them… scares me to death that good, well rounded children still have the potential to become so severely derailed…
Mine cut off too but luckily I taped the show right after. It said her family decided to cut off all contact and stop enabling her. It’s very sad.. I pray she lives to get the help she needs. I’ve been there, it’s a rough life.
I felt conflicted after watching Katie’s story. Throughout the episode, my emotions flipped trying to understand this girl and feeling more for her sisters and parents. At first, I thought her mother was cold, but I guess you have to be after your addicted daughter’s so many attempts at rehab- 14! – and subsequent relapses.
Part of me felt like maybe her sister was right, maybe she is just the drug bag you see on TV, and how could someone be so far gone with no apparent trauma? I agree with the poster who said when she was talking with Candy (my absolute favorite Interventionist), she was just going through the motions and didn’t seem like she was looking forward to a new, clean start in life. Perhaps, that’s why we saw the Skyping session between Jeff VanVonderen and Allison, who by contrast, couldn’t stop smiling and was so grateful for the Intervention and the drug-free life she lives today.
Maybe it’s true that Katie just fell in with a bad crowd. I know personally how easy it is to get addicted to opioids/opiates. It’s entirely possible that’s just what happened. I had to correct the recap on Heavy.com that stated Katie had only been using for a year. She said she had been using crack for a little over a year, but it takes many years to get to her physical and mental state, and many tries at rehab in this case.
I also know that the 90-day rehabilitation method is now widely implemented instead of the former 26-day, if possible. The state can usually only pay for 26 days, but it’s been effectively argued that 26 days is only enough time to “dry out” and that there is marked significance between an addict’s experience at the second week of treatment and the eighth. I guess that’s also why I was conflicted – she relapsed in her eighth week. I feel as though the idea of a lifelong sobriety, and transitioning into sober living, was too much for her. I wish she could have continued, as she said, to take it “one day at a time – one freaking second at a time” – but when faced with the notion of the rest of her life clean, it became overwhelming and likely caused the relapse. Someone like her who has been using for nearly half of their life needs more than 90 days to adjust.
I’m terribly sorry for all parties involved in the intervention. I don’t want to say or feel that Katie is a lost cause. I don’t believe anyone is worthy of being given up on. I just hope for now she can at least practice harm reduction if she continues to use. Katie, you’re a beautiful girl, and I’ll be thinking of you for a long time, not in just the week or two after your episode aired.
I completely agree with you in every way. I don’t think she necessarily had any trauma. I think she fell in with a bad crowd and now her trauma is facing how she has ruined the beginning of her young adult life. Coming from a family who used to be extremely proud of her is almost worse for her because she can’t face what she’s done to them. She’s lost so very much including her teeth. Obviously she’s grown up with people who think you need to wear big rubber gloves in a place where drug addicts reside and that surely doesn’t help her shame. I don’t think her family should give up on her at all. It’s so extremely sad. I wish I could write them a letter and explain what I think she’s feeling. I wish drug treatment centers would understand that not everyone responds to the standard form of treatment and some require something different to even have a chance at real recovery. My heart breaks for her.
I hear your letter. It’s not about rubber gloves. It’s not about anything you see on TV. It’s indescribable. I welcome your letter. Then you would have to read mine and I’m sure it would sadden you. No one knows what it’s like until you live it. Remember that
Hi Shannon, I have Hulu and I’m now watching Katie’s story. I just want to say I’m praying for you and you and your sister are waaaaaaay better than me. I cut everyone off in my life who were on drugs. I don’t understand it..I don’t respect it. I get the rubber gloves thing because I wouldn’t want to get stabbed by a hypodermic needle either. Some people on here don’t know because they haven’t lived it like I have with family members. I grew up in Philadelphia in the crack era so I’ve seen it all. I do pray for your family and I pray Katie gets it right.
I agree the family treated her with disgust, anger and shame. I dont care how tired they are, they go on living each day, while she continues to kill herself. Addiction centers around pain, desperation, a need to numb or escape. And with a family that treats her with such disdain and disgust, and really ignorance, Im not suprised she doesn’t get better. That sister putting on the gloves, to go where the “disgusting filthy non human addicts live” really pissed me off. Really an ignorant thing to do. And says to her dying sister that she is dirty, disgusting and unworthy.shameful. This family has made it worse by reinforcing how this girl already feels about herself. Mirroring words like disgusting, dirty, sick…see the connection?
I think the gloves were protection from sharp needles. That’s what I thought it was about.
she not only wore the rubber gloves but then just threw them off her hands in the apartments hallway which wasn’t even her sisters. the disrespect she showed was appalling.
@ Rain I agree with you too! For how long she’s been using, she needs treatment that is at least 18 months long. My ex-husband had to do too tries at a 18 month treatment center and finally after the second one he’s been sober now for over 10 years. And he didn’t have to pay for either one, because he was let in on a scholarship. One was in Santa Rosa, California, and the other one was in. I believe Auburn, California.
I agree…something** must have happened to her to make her so deep in her addiction. Remember the one episode where the addict didn’t want to talk about her violent rape until after she went to treatment? I think that is katie. And there was no threat of an arrest or warrant or anything -I’m taking it that she has never been in trouble with the law so I’m sure she hasn’t hit rock bottom. So glad this show is back but so very sad for katie.
Something may have happened, but like I wrote above I was so deep of my addiction, and nothing happened to me at all! I know a lot of people like that they just want to get high cause it feels good. Some people want to get high because it feels good and it numbs the pain, but people like myself wanted to get high just because it felt so good and then you keep wanting to chase that high. Thank God I’m clean now and I truly hope Katie find her wait to sobriety… She would need a long-term treatment center as I mentioned above.
I am so sad that she relapsed. I don’t see her living too much longer. I have lost so many friends this year to Herion. Especially with her tolerance to the drug. I know that it couldn’t have been easy to withdrawal and can’t understand why they want to go through that ever again. The truth is that you do not see continuing addicts. They either die or get incarcerated. I wish her luck but unless she stops she will be added to the list of ones who have passed. This drug is too damn strong and is literally the grim reaper these days.
Shouldn’t we also be talking about her boyfriend Andre? I wish he would have used those 85 days to cut her off. He was paying fir her $2,000 a week habit? I don’t get that part. How is she getting a free lunch like that?
I felt bad for the cat. I’m guessing he wasn’t well cared for if he’s urinating all over the place.
As for the mother, who said she had already buried Katie…no, trust me, you haven’t. Don’t even try to. It doesn’t work, and when they do die, it’s an even worse shock. Maybe try Al-anon…
Both my mother and grandfathers are all dead of alcoholism.
i feel really bad for the cat. They are somewhat like helpless children — they can’t do well without the owner’s help and care. I wish i knew that someone showed mercy on him/her and took it in, gave it a home. The people have choice, they have family / counselors…. who’s on the poor cat’s side. Hope he’s okay. does anyone know ?
At the end of the episode, it stated that Andre cut off all contact with Katie (no mention of the cat). I hope Katie never gets pregnant as a junkie.
I went to high school with Katie. She probably does not remember me. She is such a nice person and deserves the best. So sad to see a former classmate suffer this level of addiction. I wish nothing but the best for her and hope she continues to fight. This is not where she should be in life.
I never watch intervention for some reason I watched the Katie episode it was so sad. I was really happen when they showed her at the rehab. It was sad hear that she relapsed again. I wish her well. Wilkes Barre is out of hand and has been for a while.
Hey, if anyone missed the episode, download the free A&E app. I have a Kindle and it’s in the Amazon app store, not sure for other platforms.
Katie’s episode will be up for a short while, and there are plenty of older episodes to check out. Sometimes the app is glitchy, plays too many commercials (and on my device, no matter what I do, the commercials are always SO much louder than the episode is, just a heads up for those using headphones), and the app tends to randomly quit from time to time, but luckily it will pick up at the point you get cut off at when you restart the app.
Not perfect, but it’s free, and since I don’t have cable, it’s perfect for me.
Last week they had the infamous Cristy episode up, it’s been removed since then, but if you check weekly, some gems pop up time to time.
Mentioned this before in another comment, so I apologize if I’m repeating myself, or if Dizzy has it posted somewhere else.
As for the episode, the best part was hearing from Allison. So happy for her!
Also, there’s a locked episode on the app that looks like some sort of special, hopefully it will be available soon, looks interesting. I dig the new layout they started with these new episodes.
But, damn, Katie. You blew it! You won’t be able to get high for free forever and you had one last chance to clean up before something terrible happens. Hopefully she makes a change for herself, because otherwise I sadly believe we will be reading about her death on this website sooner than later.
I’ve heard so many people say they don’t even like smoking crack, but they smoke it anyway. The half Korean girl who was escorting out of a hotel room, who mainly did Roxys also said that. Very weird, I wonder if it’s actually true, or some weird form of denial. Like denying you are a crack addict when you openly admit you are addicted to opiates, to me, makes no sense.
Anyway, enough rambling.
Smoking crack, just like all the other drugs, become a Love/Hate relationship. You love the high but hate the fact that it’s made you into a slave and it’s hard to stop it.
I’m in recovery from opioids but I did both and Id always said I didn’t like smoking, even though I did it often.. It almost made me feel anxious but at the same time your brain craves it. It’s really weird. And when I got clean I dreamt about it all the time, which was crazy to me. I remember thinking if my brain obsesses this much when I don’t even like it, I can’t imagine how it is for people who love it and it’s their drug of choice.
I feel the same way, Crystal. Definitely not a fan of the new layout. ESPECIALLY the producer asking questions; to me it felt sort of cheap, you know? Maybe once would have been okay for context purposes, but I agree it felt very rushed. Same with the skype sessions, but I imagine that would help save money since the crew doesn’t have to revisit the treatment facility or whatever.
The old layout was my favorite… Call me crazy, but I loved the bells and the picture when the show would return from a commercial.
Samantha, thanks for your response. Glad it wasn’t just me:)
Meeeee tooo! OMG. I just went from watching early season to this episode and I seriously missed the simplicity of the old format, the bells, and yes I agree I don’t want to see or hear the producers unless I have to— it really cheapens the experience.
Did Katie use Suboxone??
Christie, I was wondering that too! It’s not the right treatment for everyone, but methadone/Suboxone maintenance might really help addicts like Katie (and I usually say Suboxone is the frying pan, but methadone is the fire). I personally don’t agree with AA/NA arguments saying that you’re not “clean” if you’re using maintenance drugs, but isn’t that better than sticking needles in your arm and relying on street dealers for a fix? At Katie’s point, harm reduction would at least be a step in the right direction and maybe they would save her life. For whatever reasons, I feel like I’m invested in her recovery. I guess I could see myself in her if I didn’t recover. It’s a slippery slope and it’s easy to keep slipping downward and so much harder to pick yourself up.
Methadone saved my life!
Sadly I think her family has done EVERYTHING they can for Katie. If this is the path that she has chosen (even with a loving family working hard to save her), over recovery, it is her journey….her family must separate themselves from her sickness.
After seeing the daily life Katie goes through, I thank the good Lord my husband and son conquered their alcohol addiction. I struggled dealing with them both. Can’t imagine how hard it is dealing with heroin and crack.
Does anyone else ever wonder why the editors/producers of this fantastic show choose to focus 98% of the show on the problem and only 2% on the results?
I love this show but absolutely HATE that the last three minutes are so rushed when in fact those last few minutes are what I’ve been waiting the ENTIRE show for?!
I think the timing layout should be the journey to rehab at about 50 minutes and spend the last 5-10 minutes discussing how it is going/went there and what their current state is.
I think the sad answer to your question is that the stats for those who stay in recovery are alarmingly low; success is not the norm. My own sister has been in and out of the best long-term rehab money can buy (Betty Ford etc.) and cannot stay sober. My ex and BFF died from alcohol poisoning (relapsed after 10 years sober; died in my arms). Another ex-husband and one of my best girlfriends, dead thanks to meth… my friends and husbands were all musicians (drugs and alcohol, more common than among civilians)… but my sister went to Harvard Law (for real), married well and still has more money than God. So. That’s the reality. My closest girlfriend is sober 27 years, and I continue to attend Al-Anon (since 1989) in order to hang onto a modicum of sanity for myself. This is one thing I can say from long, painful, personal experience: no matter how good they look on the outside (upper-middle-class family, Sissy and me), the family of an alcoholic/addict is NOT WELL… in denial perhaps, but quite unwell. Again: this is the reality of the thing.
I think it has more to do with privacy (medical laws) so they can’t really be filming each day at a rehab center.
Also, it’s quick update do to the fact that they are still in rehab and continue working on their sobriety or they left and are back at using.
As someone who has worked in a rehab it’s not super exciting. Lots of classes for the patients.
I felt anger & sadness for Katie; angry because she has a family that clearly loves her (13 rehabs!) but she never chose to stay clean after all of those times in rehab. Sadness because something in her is choosing not to stay clean; whether she just enjoys the drugs or is using them to self-medicate because of an underlying issue (anxiety, depression, etc.). Whatever the reason is, I hope she chooses sobriety soon. I can only dream of having such a supportive family that loves me. She is so lucky for that and she doesn’t even realize it.
I have always said that someone can have the best parents in the world and be raised the “right” way, yet still grow up and have problems with addiction, because no matter how good someone’s parents are, ultimately that person still makes their own decisions and sometimes they’re the wrong decisions, so parents and childhood events aren’t always to blame.
I have many childhood friends (now acquaintances) who had great parents & a wonderful childhood, yet they still chose to use drugs and became hardcore drug users.
Also, someone mentioned in an earlier post that some people think that if you’re on a maintenance drug (suboxone or methadone) then you aren’t really clean. I can’t disagree more.
I was in pain management for 5 years and was put on a combination of narcotics, nerve pain medication AND methadone to control my chronic pain. A year ago I realized that my body had become very physically dependent and on days when my pain wasn’t excruciating & I didn’t want to take my pain medication, I had to take the narcotics to avoid withdrawals. When that started happening, I knew I had to do something. I finally said no more and instead of allowing my pain management doctor to wean me off of narcotics with the same narcotics I was already taking, I admitted myself into the hospital (the detox floor) and got on suboxone maintenance. I’m so glad that I made that choice instead of being weaned with the same narcotic that I was dependent on.
Not only does the suboxone prevent me from having to take high doses of narcotics, it helps my chronic pain too. I’ve met many people who were in much different situations than me, who were taking handfuls of narcotics just for fun, shooting heroin before they went to parent teacher conference, etc. & they’ve all said that suboxone saved their lives.
I feel that these people (myself included) have chosen to use a legit medication, in the proper manner, to prevent having to continue dangerous doseages of narcotics and/or using an illegal drug (heroin). They are not addicts. They are smart people with wonderful success stories.
I know that some doctors use methadone in the same manner for their patients, but narcotics & methadone can be mixed, so I’d be afraid that could possibly fuel a persons habit instead of helping it. Suboxone can’t be mixed with narcotics & if it is, the person will probably overdose before ever feeling the effects of the narcotics.
I’m sorry for the long post, I just want suboxone patients to know that they aren’t addicts for choosing life & health over hell & death; you all are amazing!
Glad u r doing better.just have to be careful not to get addicted to subs. Wishing you all the best. You are doing awesome.made a choice to live and be well. Thats amazing and keep us updated.
Supportive? Maybe in the beginning. They treat her like shes disgusting filthy garbage all the way down to using gloves to go in her house. She is reflecting their views of her in her language when describing her addiction. Dirty, disgusting, sad, pathetic. Dont you see the connection there? She feels dirty and disgusting, shes treated that way also , she wont get better til she belives shes not garbage. Being attacked by your family is not supportive.
I agree. I appreciate you bringing this up, because most people make excuses for the family. I don’t think they were supportive and I know first hand what it’s like because I went through it myself with my own family firstly after being raped and secondly after becoming a heroin addict as a way to cope with the pain of the rape and being blamed for it by parents and other family members I was close to. The cops didn’t take me seriously. I was a virgin at the time. I felt so dirty because of being raped and acted accordingly. My extremely religious upbringing didn’t help. No sex outside of marriage, period, end of story. And if you do, you’re “damaged goods.” I know the feeling of being treated like you are dirty and disgusting, and I know that outcome for me wasn’t good at all. In fact I am still working through it 7 years later.
This story absolutely broke my heart…in her last interview with Candy she looked so healthy and beautiful…really sad she relapsed…just shows how horrible heroin is…
I am from the same area as Katie and when I watched this I seen myself back in my active addiction. The way she described the terms getting “unsick” going to rehab around here in the Wyoming valley is like a reunion and you meet more dealers than ppl w willing to take the program seriously…..its sad that I seen so mangy ppl I.know in the same situation as her…Wilkes Barre and surrounding areas, are so infested with heroin and crack addicts and everything in between. As for the suboxone and methadone questions that might be her only hope for a beginning to a normal life. I was also in ALOT if rehabs and I just couldn’t stay away from people, places and things . Finally many years later I Am good and on suboxone I know this isn’t about me but this is luzerne county its been line this for as long as I can remember I knower so many ppl that started using drugs, many of which have died that had a normal upbringing I can’t speak fir katie but I think she prob did just fall in with the wrong crowd. Around here drugs are like smoking a cigarette its sad they need to clean up.luzerne county there are many suboxone drs and a cpl methadone clinics around here I pray she finds the way to get to that Point she has not hit her bottom nd its better to be on a maintenance drug than sticking needless and pipes in your mouth ok done rambling just had to put my two cents in since I was exactly like her down to having a live in “bf”who was a dealer it made me thank God for suboxone and methadone BC that was ME AND MANY PPL I KNOW
I’m from the valley, also. It’s terrible and now “Spice” is taking over the area. It’s very sad.
Sorry about the typos I was writing really fast and didn’t re read,I also wanted to add that I like the old lay out better, the”bell noise”gave it a little extra
90 days is not enough. No surprise at all when she said she relapsed.
This girl wasn’t paying for her own drugs, she experienced no consequences for her lifestyle. Cut off from her ex, she wouldn’t last very long having to earn that $2k a week to maintain her habit plus pay her rent and eat. Its too exhausting.
Like I said, 90 days isn’t enough. She can tell the counselors what they want to hear, then discharge herself while not telling anyone the truth – that her craving for heroin is going to drive her back to the needle as soon as she gets some freedom.
People in this deep just need more time. Sometimes it’s not possible, but she has no chance without being supervised in a house for a year or more. I’d say she needs to get on methadone or suboxone and be in a halfway house, and attend AA or NA twice a day for at least 2 years.
Otherwise, I’d put her chances below 10%, and 50% chance shes dead in 3 years or less if she doesn’t
Sang. U hit the nail on the head she told people what they wanted to hear the only way she can get better is if she truly wants it. I’m sure the treatment is individualized…but when you’re not being forthright how can they help u? Imo she doesn’t really want it not only bc she doesn’t care but bc she has nothing to live for now…children family etc…she also has never been down and out. I just hope she can make a concious decision before it’s too late.
Very happy that this show is back on because it’s a far cry from the reality show crap that we see on TV nowadays. Intervention sheds light on true problems and issues that matter in this world, and Katie is a prime example. This episode literally had me glued to the TV, and virtually zapped my spirits when I read the ending notes because I truly wanted her to get better. We all saw how beautiful of a person she is on the outside when she had her final sit down. She truly is a pretty girl, but to know she fell back into her abyss of drugs is extremely disheartening. There’s always hope for her because God has the final say so. I truly will be praying for Katie.
Sad ending, but I honestly didnt expect her to make it thru 2 weeks of rehab. I hope she finds what she needs to get sober for good.
Glad they brought back the ‘original’ “5 steps” closing theme though. I never liked that remix they used in the later seasons before it went on hiatus.
I’m coming up on 9 months clean (on suboxone) from heroin, benzos, and alcohol. I’ve struggled for 15 years with drugs (mainly opiates) and agree with what some of the commenters here said about suboxone. I’m close to Katie’s age (34) and sometimes when someone’s been using as long as we have, it’s like the body and mind can’t ‘handle’ being completely drug free. This episode right here shows WHY more rehabs need to allow MMT or suboxone maintenance as part of its program and not only for detox. Not allowing maintenance medications and saying that someone isn’t truly ‘clean’ while on methadone or suboxone is one of the reasons 12 step rehabs have such a dismal success rate. And this is what’s killing so many young people, short term (28 day) programs promoting complete abstinence, then when their insurance runs out, kicking them out on the streets to go right back to the same situation they came from.
Congratulations!
Totally agreed Jess. There is never a one size fits all answer to something as complex as addiction, and to have such a narrow view of sobriety is a huge and potentially fatal mistake. Some people just aren’t able to stay clean, especially not at first, without something like suboxone helping them do it. There is nothing wrong with that as long as those substances don’t also become addictions.
It’s been nearly 3 months since your comment, are you still clean? Hope so. 🙂
Wow that’s crazy I just happened to come back here one day after you posted your comment… Yes I’m still clean! I’ll have a year on July 16th. I was actually in treatment about 45 minutes from where Katie’s from, but I’m actually from western PA. I wanted to be far from home because I knew that once I started feeling shitty, I’d have a ‘friend’ come get me. So I went about 4 hours east.
I completely agree!!!! Methadone saved my life!
I thought she was going to be ok. She’s such a beautiful girl. I pray that she can beat her disease and live a full life.
She was almost bragging about the amount that she did and proud the cameras were there making what she thought was a documentary. In the interview she made the comment about a doctor there saying she was a “miracle”, still bragging about her use. I used about the same amount of H before treatment but am successful because I had to swallow that pride. Even coming out of treatment I had to keep humble cause my ego tried to tell me, “you have control, you finished rehab, you could use recreationally.” Hopefully this girl humbles herself to hire powerful addiction is.
Does anyone have an update on Katie? Her story has weighed heavily on my mind. I was so disappointed she relapsed.
Such a beautiful girl. Such a sad story. However I think in some sense the unique context of this episode is important. Regardless of being lovely, talented, intelligent, had a family that loved her and NO childhood traumas, she -still- managed to go down this road. It just shows nobody is exempt from addiction regardless of your background.
I think Katie would be greatly helped by Suboxone or methadone, most likely the latter. I didn’t have as many years of active addiction as she does, but I had a few, and was deep in. I had contracted Hep C, ruined my relationship with family and friends, lost both my jobs, lost a relationship that meant a lot to me, was homeless, and had not a dollar to my name – yet I could not stop using heroin.
I would detox, sometimes in a facility, sometimes at home on a suboxone taper, sometimes cold turkey, but I could not stay clean. When I was clean, I was filled with a sense of depression, boredom, worthlessness and fatigue. I could not pull myself out of bed in the morning. Maybe I wasn’t strong enough to do it on my own .. Maybe if I had tried a little harder or pushed myself through the depression, I could have done it without getting on methadone. But honestly, I am so glad I did. It took away that sense of depression that I got whenever I got clean. My mindset changed from thinking of being clean as a bad thing, that I was missing out on heroin, the one thing I thought I loved so much .. to thinking of being clean as a good thing, and feeling motivated to move on with my life and improve myself.
I really think it would help Katie to get on a maintenance program. Every person is different, so every person’s path to getting clean is different. What works for one person may not work for another. A lot of comments on these sites say she’s a lost cause but I don’t think ANYONE is. She can find a better way of life and become truly happy, I am sure of it.
I have a very similar experience to you. I tried getting clean so many times but couldn’t because of the depression, PTSD, anxiety etc I was dealing with underneath, methadone has been a miracle for me.
Using subs only makes u shoot coke
what a random misguided thing to say.
Honestly I just watched the episode of Katie and I had tears in my eyes. I’m proud of all of you for staying sober keep up the good work.
So sad to hear she didn’t make it. I saw myself in her so much right down to living with the “dealer” “bf” ..4 years clean and so happy! You really have to want to change …can’t do it because someone wants you to.. honest truth! Anyone have any updates on her?
I know people that know her and last I heard, she’s still the same.
Damn, hope her “bf” cut her off …she’s gotta hit bottom before she can even begin to heal.
Man katie was using so much..I think also along with getting clean and sober..your mind also craves your drug routine back very badly. You miss the routine of getting the money..then the drugs..then doing the drugs. You kno? Atleast thats how I’m feeling being 3 weeks clean off heroin..but I’m on vivatrol. I wish I could see how she’s doing..but idk how I don’t have a facebook. It takes your soul your heart calls out for heroin. Ugh…but vivatrol is working for me…slowly but surely.
I’ve heard so many addicts on Intervention say they are also addicted to the whole process of getting the drugs and the needle.
So sad, I know the family very well and remember Katie as a youngster. Her cousin commuted suicide after coming home from the marines and sent the family into a spiral. Not that it’s an excuse but I’m sure the constant family sorrow contributed to her drug use. I feel for Jamie and Missy. My heart goes out to you … God bless you all
Any updates on Katie how she doing? Its really sad that she didn’t want to continue her treatment. Hope she gets clean and stay sober.
wow, lots of comments here. addiction is ALWAYS related to trauma of some form.
false. drugs are fun in the beginning, no need for trauma to start doing them.
Addiction itself causes trauma.
That’s not a true fact. I’m proof of that and I know plenty of people who are/were like me.
wow, lots of comments here. addiction is ALWAYS related to trauma of some form.
just because there was no clasically traumatic event in her life doesn’t mean there wasn’t trauma. heck, I believe we all are traumatized just living in a society like ours, except some with a tenency for addiction wind up igniting addictive behaviors to cope with it. i think she definitely had miles of pain, so deep, she can’t even access it. the fact that her mother and sister rejected her so deeply was kind of distrubting. her sister acted like she was just this misbehaving bad kid, when in fact, her brain is totally completely utterly not working at this point anymore.
Elliot – I appreciate your humanity and kind approach you have taken toward Katie. She may not have had one specific instance that triggers her addiction, Maybe it was lots of small instances added up and finally she snapped. I know I’ve been there many times. I pray that she is healing – and by healing I don’t mean sobriety – I mean healing her heart so she doesn’t feel like she needs heroin anymore. I think people get too caught up in sober vs not sober because it’s so much more complicated than that. Thank you for showing a more kind and compassionate side of the story.
I just watched Katie’s episode.
I found her story quite unique compared to other Intervention stories, in that she identified no trauma trigger for her addiction and she seemed to manage her addiction without relying on the support of her family to enable her.
Sadly I wasn’t surprised to see she relapsed. She appeared very committed to her lifestyle and seemed to have given up on life, a future, and her family.
You could see she was from a family with high personal standards and had herself been a high achiever which perhaps contributed to her oscillating denial and/or disgust at what her life had become. I believed her when she said she had no traumatic event in her past. It’s not unusual in my experience, and her story rang true to me. I imagine that her current trauma is dealing with a life so full of promise and potential, wasted, as well as the alienation and disappointment she has brought to her family. This shame alone must be very debilitating, especially for a girl who once had such high expectations for herself. Also having started at such a young age is a huge challenge, as it will have deeply imprinted on her life view.
It was sad to see the division in her family. Clearly her father and her siblings: Shannon and Dave, were willing to go to any lengths to help her, which was admirable, while her sister Meghan and her mother were at the end of their patience with her. I can only imagine the heartache, frustration, and depression they must feel after years of trying to help her. 13 …now 14 rehabs is a lot of hope dashed. It’s a life altering experience to be family to an addict and an immense struggle that tests the character of all involved. I feel for them as there is no rest from the worry and pain, not until Katie finds the strength and motivation she needs to live again.
I really hope to one day read that Katie has managed to successfully recover from this awful disease. She has so much life to live, so many experiences yet to discover. I know personally how difficult it is to leave the lifestyle of addiction. It is a comfort blanket that you pull over your head and hide under. The soothing darkness of your blanket cave becomes your universe and you can’t see that there is a world that exists outside. I pray that she will stand outside one day and see that life without chemicals is great and worth living.
kia kaha Katie, and family. Stay strong.
Sorry, but her attitude was shit from the start. I can empathize with her family if they ave dealt with THAT for over a decade now (believe she was late 20’s now shooting dope since teens, soooo). She is sick as hell. Don’t Care. She is broke. Don’t Care. Her family is desperate for her to be sober. Don’t care. She has no weight to her. Don’t Care. She lost her teeth due to her habits. DON’T CARE! — — THAT is her attitude towards it all. She just doesn’t care in the least. She is as apathetic as she can be about it all.
I wonder what the underlying issue REALLY is. She said she just got in with the wrong crowd in HS. No history of abuse, physical or sexual. She just picked up a needle and went to town. But she blew through that question so fast …. flippantly brushing off “those people” who do use because of some past trauma they’ve never been able to deal with, Why did she change high schools? She tells mom and dad she wants to go to a different HS, and she does. Her grades and attitude go straight downhill around then too. Maybe it’s not about the change in school. Maybe something happened to her at her 1st HS and THAT is the real issue here? Abuse of some sort? Rape? Teacher involved? Threats? Suppressed memories now at this point possibly too?
Just some thoughts ….. something just isn’t right with this girl and I don’t think she wants to admit it, face it or deal with it in any way. Mom is VERY cold to her. I don’t mean that to be judgmental. She’s been dealing with Katie using for what, over a decade now. But I have not seen any other mom on Intervention as cold and disinterested in their addict child than this mom. Why is that? Was there always a wall there between mom and Katie?
As soon as she did her followup interview, and her first words were that ‘yeah, she guessed she was doing alright’ I KNEW it was going to state she relapsed immediately. Her attitude had not changed in the least. She was biding her time, probably HOPING for the best, all the while not really putting any effort into actually getting help, and getting support to help stay sober. She could see the needle the moment she stepped out the front door.
Amen. At this point, I can totally understand why they have checked out on her!
She doesnt want help, her attitude sucked & they’ve been doing this for a decade plus….I dont blame them at all.
Yes I agree I think there is definitely a deeper underlying issue that has been buried deeper and deeper until the point she doesn’t even know what it is anymore. It will take layers of uncovering the past and the pain to figure out what it is and I sympathize with Katie because I know how hard that can be, being a heroin addict using the needle to numb away the pain of rape and abuse myself. It does a good job, but not good enough. The pain is still there even if you’ve numbed it away for awhile so you can’t feel it. The moment it wears off the pain comes back and you go running for shelter from the pain again and again. I was terrified to face the dope sickness but even more terrified to face the excruciating pain I had been avoiding for so long, and the longer I avoided the scarier and harder it became to face. I think Katie had been running from the pain for so long she couldn’t even identify the original source of pain anymore, she just knew it was there and knew it was insurmountable without something to help her get through the day. I’ve been there and in some way still am there. Healing from trauma is a slow and sometimes tedious process, and I know I wanted a quick fix which heroin gave me. I can’t speak for Katie, but I can speak from my experience – which includes my own experiences and what I’ve witnessed and heard from others – and from what I know people don’t become that apathetic unless there is no faith left to give and no hope on the horizon. And it takes a lot of pain and suffering to get to the point of no faith and no hope. I feel for Katie and really hope she is healing – not just from addiction, that is just a sentence in her story so to speak – but from whatever else is hurting her so deeply.
http://timesleader.com/news/local/540572/police-in-wilkes-barre-township-searching-for-woman-accused-of-retail-theft
I don’t think that’s her. Different eye shape and eyebrows, unless she heavily penciled them in.
Tazz, you have a great eye. Thank you so much for the link.
I hope Katie is on a better path now.
That’s her, just with makeup on.
It looks exactly like her… Drugs can mess with your appearance too over time, and she looks rougher than when she was on the show. Look at the comments on the article too…everybody recognized her.
I looked it up on a phone and you could only see her ear and half of her eye on the pic and I couldn’t see any comments. My bad. I just looked it up on the computer.
I don’t think anyone without this problem would understand. I have the same problem just the h. Mine problem start from going to a dr. Because my tooth hurt and he gave me loratabs I didn’t stop until I was here at this point. I have detox in jail 3-4 times cold and every time I feel great in want to do right and I cross something that got me to this point boom Im back. I didn’t have anything happen to me I had a great child hood and but that pill lead me hear. This isn’t what I want. I had more money than all of my friends. But now I’m homeless I have to get money everyday just to have a room at the motel. So don’t judge her. And from someone that has a problem I hope her family never turns there back on her.
I appreciate the insights of your comment. It really got me thinking… I too am a heroin addict. I think part of addiction is NATURE – genetics, brain chemistry, and so on… and part of it is NURTURE – family environment, religious influence, the presence or absence of trauma, rape, neglect and abuse. In some cases, like Katie’s, it sounds more like nature. In mine, I’d say it is more nurture. I became a heroin addict to numb away the incessant and unbearable pain of being raped. Had I not been raped, who knows, maybe I would’ve still become a H addict anyway because addiction runs in my family which would fall under nature. Digging deeper into my past, I was a victim of domestic violence, both toward myself and my siblings. Not only suffering it, but watching your siblings be abused and being helpless to stop it can be devastating to say the least. However this isn’t about me, and I’m not in the least saying this to make anyone feel bad for me, I’m just using my life as an example, like a case study.
I think in Katie’s case, however, it is definitely a possibility that the main reason for her addiction is nature, meaning her genetics, brain chemistry, something of that sort. However, I don’t think that you can completely disregard nurture in any case of addiction. She said she fell in with a bad crowd, which would fall under the nurture category, but why? Was she not accepted in other, more healthy crowds? Did she feel the need to boost her self esteem by being the “bad girl” on campus, and if so, why the did she choose the “bad girl” image and not the “good girl” image? Or perhaps she already had a high self esteem, but wanted a group to rule over and this particular group seemed like they’d follow her lead? So many questions… It’s never as simple as just “falling into a bad crowd.” Not everyone that hangs out with the so-called “bad kids” in school ends up a heroin addict. In fact, in high school, I hung out with mostly the “good kids” and a few “bad kids” too. I don’t think the crowd you chill with in high school is an accuarate indicator whether you will suffer from the disease of addiction as you grow older. I think you need to take a view of the bigger picture, including a look at childhood trauma as well as a genetic history for a predisposition for drug abuse. In the case of Katie, with the information given to us, I think we can conclude that her addiction is largely nature based – genetics, brain chemistry, and so on, however there is always a nurture portion as well that we can’t ignore, and the episode didn’t give us much information on that aspect of her life history.
Dont blame the doctor. You went to him for help, he helped you…what happened after is on you. That’s just fact.
I am terminally ill & its people who blame their doctor, for their addiction, that has made it hard for people like me now. I get the side eye whenever I pick up a script until they clarify I am truly ill. The laws are ridiculous now because of addicts. So yes, I will judge.
Like her family, thats she’s destroyed, I couldnt deal with someone for a decade either that didnt care about anything…including themselves.
Couldn’t have said it better myself. Good luck in your fight.
huh??? no one blamed the doctor. she said it all STARTED when she went to the doctor for her tooth and got prescribed lortabs. addiction is a SICKNESS just like yours. do you want me to judge you for whatever your illness is? maybe you smoked or ate unhealthily or didn’t exercise enough? you have NO RIGHT to judge others.
I don’t think he’s blaming the doctor but instead just wanted to make a point that his addiction began at that time because he never stopped after his prescription was up.
I agree with you 100% on how difficult it is for people like us to get certain medications from doctors because of this whole drug pandemic that came from all of these addicts who abused them.
I’m just a stranger so this might sound very silly, but I just saw the episode and was so impressed by Katie’s sister Shannon. I completely understand many of the members of Katie’s family being angry and wanting to give up…I would feel that way too. I think they are all good people, but Shannon just seemed special. Totally aside from Katie’s issues, Shannon appears to be unusually intelligent and to have a soft heart. I am comforted to know that people like her exist.
I definitely believe that Katie got in with the wrong crowd and started using with no underlying causes.I’m the exact same age as Katie and I grew up only an hr. Or so away from where she grew up also. I’ve grew up with so many just like her. I get where people are coming from trying to make sense of why she is the way she is but there doesn’t have to be a particular reason or tramatic event for someone to pick up. Why over think it.
Exactly how it happened with me. Trying drugs with other people turned into a full blown addiction for no other reason than my own fault.
Me too.
Hopefully she can beat this thing. I’ve seen the episode a few times and it touched a nerve with me.
What’s her last name? Curious how she is
What was wrong with Katie’s lip. It was up on One side
From picking at her face on meth. That’s what happens When u get high on that… u look in the mirror and start messing with your face thinking you have zits or pimples.
She didn’t use Meth… crack and heroin
Thx but her top lip looked like it was cut. Sad case for sure. Brutal to watch
I thought the same thing. I thought maybe a pipe exploded and cut or burned her lips. Some of the scars were too deep and long to be drug-related skin picking.
Katie showed pic from a year and half ago tht looked pretty normal complexion wise.
But who knows if she has any real sense of time.
Heartbreaking ❤️
The smirk. I felt hope and then I saw the smirk when she agreed to go. I watch Intervention frequently, but had somehow missed this episode. I wonder if Katie has subsequently passed away since these posts or if She well. I wonder if the sisters and samilybahave found some peace with Al-non or the like. Anyway, Prayers.
I just saw Katie’s story and that she relapsed. Her family was so supportive and loving, are there any updates?
I think I found Katie’s Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/katie.yourren?lst=1437912366%3A100001621817999%3A1488482849
“This page isn’t available
The link you followed may be broken, or the page may have been removed.”
This episode ripped my heart out. I’m so sad for katie and her family. I wish Katie would recognize her worth, but I understand how she may feel very defensive around her family. I also completely understand how hard it is for her family to continue to love her but unable to have a relationship ship with her. I know first hand the anger and frustration all too well. I wish Katie and her family peace whether they are apart or together (hopefully together.)
Just watched the show on her. I live in pa. May 10th 2016.she stole from walmart.i pray she gets help. I remeber seeing her on fb .wanted
The overwhelming opinion that “something must have happened” to her for someone with “her background” to have become an addict is an ignorant thought. (Ignorant is not meant as an insult, just as Not Knowing) – It is comfortable for people from a similar background to want to believe thos because it didn’t happen to them. The thought that it can be that simple is unfathomable and honestly scary. It happens all the time. Sadly, by the time it is revealed those people blend in quite well with any other addict; thereby leaving the rest of us to assume their pasts. I am one of them. Loving, middle class family, well educated, extended family, friends, church, sports, brains, the most mundane/normal of lives. Just got roo close and too curious with the wrong group, thinking I could control it and walk away if needed.
As for the gloves: are you freaking kidding me? Do you know how dangerous, filthy, disease ridden a drug den is? Good for her for taking precautions. As for her words, she was stating a fact, not making a judgment. Family is affected by each other’s choices and actions. Drug use is not a victimless crime, not a singular victim crime. The whole point of an intervention is One Last Chance. Cutting ties to the addict is not turning your back on them, it’s refusing to let the drug/addiction control them as well. It cant be an idle threat. Too often people stay in addiction becauae eveeyone allows it. Not to memtion, a family member choosing drugs/addiction over all those that love and need them is turning their heart and soul against them. We cannot continue to sympathize with the addicts and blaming or expecting from the families. Its time for responsibility and consequences. If I had been offeeed a chamce at rehab. I would have been extatic. I lost my family, friends, career, and home – forever. I am on the right track now, and yes being alone is scary. However, remembeeing what I list helps keep me motivated. Id give anythingto have it all back, but whose to say if I did, that I’d stay clean? I will pray for the family, but sympathy, excuses, assumptions, judgments, and/or blame never cured anyone of anything! Best wishes to the family
The overwhelming opinion that “something must have happened” to her for someone with “her background” to have become an addict is an ignorant thought. (Ignorant is not meant as an insult, just as Not Knowing) – It is comfortable for people from a similar background to want to believe thos because it didn’t happen to them. The thought that it can be that simple is unfathomable and honestly scary. It happens all the time. Sadly, by the time it is revealed those people blend in quite well with any other addict; thereby leaving the rest of us to assume their pasts. I am one of them. Loving, middle class family, well educated, extended family, friends, church, sports, brains, the most mundane/normal of lives. Just got roo close and too curious with the wrong group, thinking I could control it and walk away if needed.
As for the gloves: are you freaking kidding me? Do you know how dangerous, filthy, disease ridden a drug den is? Good for her for taking precautions. As for her words, she was stating a fact, not making a judgment. Family is affected by each other’s choices and actions. Drug use is not a victimless crime, not a singular victim crime. The whole point of an intervention is One Last Chance. Cutting ties to the addict is not turning your back on them, it’s refusing to let the drug/addiction control them as well. It cant be an idle threat. Too often people stay in addiction becauae eveeyone allows it. Not to memtion, a family member choosing drugs/addiction over all those that love and need them is turning their heart and soul against them. We cannot continue to sympathize with the addicts and blaming or expecting from the families. Its time for responsibility and consequences. If I had been offeeed a chamce at rehab. I would have been extatic. I lost my family, friends, career, and home – forever. I am on the right track now, and yes being alone is scary. However, remembeeing what I list helps keep me motivated. Id give anythingto have it all back, but whose to say if I did, that I’d stay clean? I will pray for the family, but sympathy, excuses, assumptions, judgments, and/or blame never cured anyone of anything! Best wishes to the family
Nothing happened to me and I became an addict. Worst thing that happened was my parents divorce when I was 16 but I was already using at that point. I believe her when she says nothing traumatic happened. I think life was too plain for her and she thought being a junkie princess looked better and more fun than Irish dancing. How many times did she call herself a “junkie” during this show? She’s proud of her junkie-ness and sell never get clean til she realizes how awful of a life it really is. It took me turning 41 and still doing the same shit until I really made the changes…I was never proud of my addiction though like this chick is. Very unlikeable person. I know people like this girl and I keep my distance.
Any 2017 updates on katie?
Someone posted her Facebook but I don’t know if she hasn’t posted in forever or if she has it set to limited so her posts are all older. In those it says she’s clean and working and that she even babysat Meghan’s (the sister with the gloves) baby. And she has a bunch of stuff about people living off of welfare checks and that being gross. So in 2014 and 2015 she was at least appearing clean on Facebook and being ridiculous.
Not so sure about now, though.
As I watched this I couldn’t help but think of Ed Sheeran’s song “A Team”. Heartbreaking.
I think that she’s clearly bipolar and possibly borderline personality disorder. Jyst bc it’s not fancy and dramatized for tv, doesn’t mean that it can’t/doesn’t happen this way.
I don’t think anything happened to her – why else would she have been heavily involved with dancing until 17 when she started her down spiral at 12-13 when she switched schools?
The way she talks, lives and acts is her trying to play hood fabulous when it just isn’t her. Look at all those throwback photos they posted – like the sister said she made a false world for herself because her own life was probably just too vanilla for her. I bet the changing of schools was a good school to a poor school just so she could have the experience and excuse to act out.
The boyfriend is what kills me the most – she’s a different type of girl then your real hood chick and I guarantee that is a big reason he supported her habit, if it wasn’t for that she would be on the street selling herself..she should be thankful she is cute, could clean up well and her parents bought her teeth – not your typical ratty junkie which afforded her much privilege.
I hope she gets clean and cuts the try-hard “hood princess” act and gets real with herself because baby girl it clearly ain’t working for ya’
You took the words right out of my mouth about this girl. She wants people to think she’s a badass. Until she quits that shit, she’ll never get better…signed, a 45 y/o recovering addict from. Philly (on methadone)
This girl was one of the least likable addicts. I could completely understand the mother and the sister being as fed up as they were. 13 times! The simple fact is this girl just doesn’t want to be clean. She wants to be high. I think she stayed with the program to look good for the show, but after giving that little follow-up, she was ready to go back to her old life.
They admitted that they spoiled her as a child, and I think she always finds a way to get what she wants. And what she wants is drugs. After a certain point, as sad as it is, you have to let people like her go.
And that drug dealer she was with bugged me too. He was one of those pathetic men who couldn’t get any females to even glance at him, so he was enabling this girl. Talk about insecure.
I just watched her episode last night. I’m from Philadelphia so I see & know many addicts like Katie.
I ABSOLUTELY believe she’s lying about not having gone through some type of trauma. Ok, so I can see you mixing w/ wrong crowd & getting caught up. Then having to go to rehab no more than twice because u relapsed 1nce, but 14XS! No one is an lifelong addict because dey hung w/ the wrong people. She’s covering up something.
Something had to happen during one of those trips she took for her dancing. Remember every1 said she LOVED dancing & competing. Then all of a sudden she quit w/no explanation to get high. Someone hurt her at a performance, competition or they were tied to that dancing world.
Why isn’t she in jail? As many drugs as she has on a daily basis that she showed on camera should be enough cause to get a warrant to go in her home & arrest her. Doing that just might save her life. She needs to be away from that environment for no less than a few yrs. 30, 90 or 365 days is just not enough time for her to get completely sober. She also needs to be truthful about what happened to her. She has blocked it out to the point that she actually believes what she told herself about it not happening.
Katie is slowly committing suicide. So sad.
Can anyone please provide any update on this? I know Katie’s sister Shannon was posting in here in 2015 but I’d really appreciate it if she would again. I feel so terribly every time I see that an addict relapsed after treatment. In this case, she hurt her family so badly that they wanted nothing to do with her and that is absolutely heartbreaking.
Shannon – if you’re still there, can you let us know if she’s a happy or sad ending at this point?
I actually know she is doing good.
Anyone have any updates on Katie? She is clearly a very sick girl. Its sad what her family went through and watches every day. I was surprised she made it all the way through treatment, but the fact that she didnt want to go to sober living, and within 2 days was back on herion proves she will be a life long addict. I feel so sorry for this girl, and I will pray for her. She needs help. She needs to move across the country and get out of that environment, but I am proud of her family for holding their bottom lines, along with Andre. She definitely needs help, or a miracle because she will die if she doesnt get it. She seems like a sweet girl, that just took a toll down the wrong road. God be with her.
I love how everyone here is “feeling sorry” for Katie. She had everything she could ever want growing up her parents are amazing people. Whatever she wanted she got it and to be honest she didn’t want for anything then she made the stupid decision to leave the school she was at and start attending a new school. I was witness to many many times where she didn’t get high just used to get unsick yeah that’s a bunch of BS because she is a manipulative compulsive liar and will do anything for her next fix. To be honest I wish intervention never picked up her story because she doesn’t deserve it she has stole manipulated and literally pushed away everybody who ever cared about her. The only thing she’s good for is when you need a good liar you go to her that’s it. Katie yourren is probably the worst person I’ve ever met that’s saying a lot. And I’m not just talking out of my ass here her and I or very very very good friends for the time we were about 10 until maybe 6 or 7 years ago. Yes I did use with her but I decided to get my back together so I didn’t lose everybody that I loved and she hated that. She robbed your parents blind I lost everybody who ever cared for her. As far as I’m concerned she got what she deserved. I can only hope she’s rotting somewhere.
So ur saying you know her personally ? And shes obvisously still alive and using right?
Getting high was probably her way of rebelling from the well to do life she was living. She wanted to hang out with the “bad crowd” and probably got introduced to drugs and did them trying to “fit in”. This is a dime a dozen story of good girl gone bad.I honestly feel like drugs get too much a bad rap and get too much of the blame for someone that just generally has a crappy personality. There’s people that get high and they’re still the nicest people ever. Sad that they are but they can still be kind. A lot of these intervention stories I noticed the users are spoiled and selfish in general. Then throw drugs into that and it makes them even worse. It’s not just the desperation for drugs making them manipulate people they get a kick out of it. They put themselves on a pedestal and no one else matters but them. These are the types of drug addicts whose families eventually get tired of them and cut all ties to them. Then they go out looking for a new source to manipulate like a friend or lover so long as they’ll shelter and flip the bill for their habbit. Then when that ends it to the streets manipulating strangers for money or prostituting. It’s a downwards spiral. Best thing that can ever happen to addicts like Katie is Prison and a nice stretch of time. They get clean because they have no choice but to and they have nothing but time to deal with their demons and think about all the people they wronged and bridges they burned. If she doesn’t end up in Prison she’ll end up OD’ing, or murdered by a John or by a lover. That’s flat out the option for a career junkie. You’re not dying of natural causes. A wake up call where she decides to quit on her own would take witnessing a serious trauma that will make her desperate to get out that lifestyle once an for all.
I wish someone had an update for Katie 🙁
Has anyone gotten any updates about her wellbeing?
Any updates? Facebook link posted above doesn’t seem to work. It says the page does not exist.
Ive seen her I believe at a maintence program just recently… I myself am from wilksbarre and when i seen this epiosde of katie , and I strongly rooted for her recovery .. it may not be A clean lifestyle , but it is much better then what she was doing. . Hope she’s doing better now 🙏
Her Facebook is open again. She was arrested last month:
Wilkes-Barre City Police Department
March 8 a
NATURE OF OFFENSE: Possession of a controlled substance /paraphernalia
DATE: 03/08/2019
TIME: 0030hrs
LOCATION: N Empire St
SUSPECT(S) INVOLVED:
FEY, Amy 43yr old W/F Mountain Top PA
FEY, Daniel 43yr old W/M Mountain Top PA
YOURREN, Katie 33yr old W/F Wilkes-Barre PA
INCIDENT DETAILS:
The three suspects were in a vehicle that was stopped by police, and were found to be in possession of a controlled substance, and drug paraphernalia. Charges have been filed.
SgtJZ645
She appeared in arrest photos this month and was far worse than her appearance on the show. Sad
I saw them, and wow…you’re right. Very sad.
https://m.facebook.com/WBTPD/photos/pcb.2776355975724507/2776353129058125/?type=3&source=48
I really hope she gets the help she needs before it’s too late.
and now a hit and run while being a getaway car for a shoplifter. How sad. There must have been some trigger for her drug problem.
https://www.citizensvoice.com/news/police-letter-to-kind-hit-run-suspect-goes-viral-1.2492881
I just saw this! Except it says it’s from 2020. I was also about to post the link to this page.
Here is her Facebook
https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100040417145867#!/photo.php?fbid=106845670672671&id=100040417145867&set=a.106845694006002&source=11&refid=17
The photo is of her visiting some guy in jail where you talk through the phone and there’s glass.
So sad. I was really pulling for her. 😢
Shocked she is still alive it’s been 5 years. Obviously not doing well if she’s being arrested. Very sad
Hi Katie its donald from intervention 2009 how r u i just started a you tube channel
Donald I watched your episode and I really liked it! I really like most of the intervention episodes but some I can relate more to! Anyways, how are you doing now?
My sister lived in the building next door to Katie’s building about a year before and that whole building is full of addicts and dealers! I just don’t understand why Katie doesn’t try getting into Miners Medical which is a methadone and suboxen clinic and it’s literally 10 mins from her building!
Going to a methadone clinic each day requires a person to really want to quit. The methadone they give you is so you don’t have the withdrawal sickness and you can function with a full head everyday. Addicts want the high feeling which is something they won’t get from methadone unless they abuse which is why clinics make you come everyday for your dose rather than 2 or more days of supply.
Also, you need to really get out of the environment you are in and get rid of the “friends” you keep because nothing is going to change if nothing changes. Going to a methadone clinic and then coming home to a block full of addicts and drug dealers makes it almost impossible to stay sober.
Where is Katie now? How is she doing in 2021? Better i hope.
As of 2020 her facebook says shes in a relationship with a guy who was just released from jail. Theres actually a picture of him in jail on the phone. Her info says shes a BHT at Pyramid Healthcare….but nothing is very recent on either of their facebooks.
https://www.facebook.com/katie.yourren.5
It’ super creepy and invasive when people do this
Do you mean look someone up on Facebook? It’s all publicly available information…
Singularly unattractive person. Katie makes it real hard to feel any kind of sympathy for her. I understood the Mother and the one Sister’s feelings. They’d understandably had enough. The Father and the other Sister are admirable, yes, but I think history will prove their efforts are in vain.
I completely agree with you Todd. She was one of the least sympathetic addicts ever profiled.
A more recent fb of hers:
https://www.facebook.com/katie.yourren.5
You could tell from her follow up that she had no interest in sobriety. My guess is that she has a personality disorder. My heart goes out to the family. They truly did all they could
https://www.citizensvoice.com/police-letter-to-kind-hit-run-suspect-goes-viral/article_
unfortunately Katie Y. has been in some trouble in the last couple of years.
I think about her all the time and wish her the best. it’s so sad seeing such a beautiful young woman do this to herself.
This one was interesting. I may be way off base here but, I found myself wondering if she might have sexual orientation issues that she couldn’t share with her family.
It never ceases to amaze me how many people come hear with wild speculations based upon nothing. What a stupid thing to say.
I concur Mary!
Hahah I agree also Mary!
My very amateur social media sleuthing skills tell me she’s not friends with her sisters at this time but she is friends with Andre. I am guessing they were not able to work things out in their family – so sad. I hope she’s able to get well.
As someone with major depressive disorder all I can say is I would bet my next months paycheck that Katie has it and as so many others on here have said, BPD. I also want to point out that in so many of these episodes the families will say they do not get why she started using, while they are drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes. According to a HArvard MIT study about 5-8 years ago Alcohol is far and away the most destructive drug on Earth.
While it might be true that Katie did not have a major trauma (that she is willing to admit to) that started all this there is no denying that her family was clearly involved in drugs and yes alcohol is a drug, the worst of it’s kind, although opiates/opioids are quickly catching up to it. I can’t stand to hear alcohol and drugs. It’s just drugs folks. Another major clue to her pain is the opening line in the episode, when she said “when I am off drugs I feel so sad and depressed”. She pretty much told us right there she has MDD and as someone who has it also and has taken the last year and a half of my recovery getting to know it intimately, it has become a lot easier to see it in others.
It would seem that those are the main reasons she uses. Someone with severe mental illness choosing to self medicate. It’s almost par for the course with us addicts. I find it sad that so many people who have never experienced addiction on these boards take the time to be so judgemental and mean. The girl needs major help and I hope one day she gets it before it is too late. But like most of us who have gone down that dark and insane and lonely road known as addiction it will be up to her to decide when enough is enough. Unless her mental illness and the insanity of addiction has taken her down so far that she can no longer make cognitive decisions. In which case she needs to be involuntarily admitted somewhere. And since that has mostly been done away with she will be left where so many other addicts have had to go and exist until the die. The streets. We never should have closed all those institutions decades ago.
Katie I hope desperately that you get the help you need and deserve.
bill-as a former wife of a HFA, I agree wholeheartedly w/u re: alcohol’s drug level. tho I’ve endured significant trauma in life, I never became addicted 2 any drugs despite being offered many (beginning at 13) & experimenting w/ some & dealing a few. my 1st question 2 myself upon discovering my hub’s ongoing addiction (he’d claimed “recovery”, but eventually admitted 2 only drying out in a hospital detox b4 we met), was WHY did I end up w/him. my eventual answer was that I was trying 2 vicariously repair my dysfunctional relationship w/my dad…they were nearly IDENTICAL, save 4 my dad not being a substance abuser. my hub & dad have secreted traumas w/their mothers resulting in misogynism & possible personality disorders. all my hub’s good friends were not even aware of his alcoholism & I saw it after just 3 mos. he plays the HFA (pretend recovering) role well…says the right things 2 all who know, including his LCSW, yet NONE (but me) were aware he was NOT in recovery at all. I described him as a guy who goes 2 a nudist colony wearing a flesh colored suit…not willing 2 truly bear (bare?) his soul.
Hi Katie, I just watched your episode. Thank you for sharing your story. I too am struggling with addiction and can’t seem to stop. I wish more people would understand that no one would CHOOSE to be like this, it is a disease.
We are about the same age, same struggles and I just wanted to send ya some love from Canada 🇨🇦
Shannon u need to simmer down all people know is what they watch on tv and if memory corrects me you were pretty cruel yourself to your sister on frigging NATIONAL TELEVISION so relax what kind of responses did u expect your sister is an addict and people are commenting not insulting you the way you SHANNON flipped out grow up
The sister really rubbed me the wrong way. When she goes to Katie’s apartment and puts on the gloves she says ‘I hope I have Katie on a good mental state with this project”. Referring to her sister’s drug addiction as a “project” shows me she seems very entitle with a holier than you attitude. They are very degrading to Katie and most likely would benefit from actual education on drug addiction and the illness itself.
The use of the word “project” really stood out to me also. I thought it was a really odd way to describe what was going on.