Moms talk about heroin

SPRINGVILLE — Without much effort, several mothers whose sons battle or battled heroin addiction came up with the names of those who died the past four years.

Sandi Daoust plans to read the 13 names aloud today at the annual drug awareness night at Springville High School. She will save her son's name for last.

Reading the list will be hard for Daoust "because I know there are 12 other mothers that feel like I do. We're the walking wounded . . . I'm not alone. That's a very sad thing. I don't want to hear about any more people going through that."

Organizers tried to gather photos of the 12 young men and one young woman for display to drive home the point that they were real people, that heroin addiction is a real problem in Springville. But some parents didn't want to share them publicly.

One family hasn't accepted that their son died of a drug overdose, organizers said.

Heroin abuse has been an inexplicable scourge in this sheltered upper-middle-class Utah County community for a decade. A series of stories in the Deseret Morning News last June revealed an alarming number of teenagers and young adults hooked on an opiate that has lost popularity in many other places.

Private drug counselors in the county report that as many as 70 percent of their heroin-addicted clients live in Springville, which has about 20,500 residents. In 2002, there were twice as many Springville residents admitted to county-contracted treatment centers for heroin addiction than Provo residents. Provo has a population of 110,000.

Thirteen deaths is "absolutely" a high amount for a city the size of Springville, said Sharon Kay, director of an Orem drug treatment center called The Gathering Place.

"There's no question that Springville has a greater problem with heroin use than other areas in Utah County," she said. "We don't know why. But we certainly know that's the case."

The drug has broken parents' hearts, torn apart families and snuffed out promising young lives.

Several concerned mothers recognized the problem seven years ago and began the drug awareness night to educate others. After a successful debut, attendance waned. Only about 20 people showed up last year.

The news stories in June created buzz in the city — for awhile. Some of those featured in the stories received calls from parents seeking advice. Others have been asked to speak in various forums. Then, the chatter faded.

Colene Miner, Diane Child, Marianne Stephens and Daoust remain steadfast in the effort to share their stories in what they describe as a city in denial. They again have blanketed Springville with fliers, letters to clergy and telephone calls urging participation.