Dee Bettencourt’s son — her best friend — was shot to death two years ago at age 20 when a drug deal for OxyContin went bad.
Jackie Ricupero’s heroin addiction cost her a 28-year marriage and, in just two years, $180,000. She stole from her kids and neighbors once her money ran out.
Liisa Bennett’s son has been addicted to opiates since he broke his arm at age 15 and was prescribed the painkiller Percocet. Nearly a decade later, he’s been through detox about 10 times as he progressed from Percocet to OxyContin to heroin.
Lori Lewis became addicted to heroin within three days of trying it. For more than a decade, she worked as a prostitute so she always had enough money to buy more.
A city known for chronic high unemployment and underperforming schools, Fall River’s most serious — deadliest — problem is a long-running addiction to opiates.
From 2005 to 2007, [...]

Original post by Grant Welker