New Video Tackles DuPage County’s Heroin Epidemic

The Wheaton Police Department is encouraging residents to watch a new video, posted on the city’s website, that tackles the issues surrounding Heroin in DuPage County: An Equal Opportunity Epidemic.

Put together by the Wheaton Communications Department, this video is available on the City’s website and on city of Wheaton’s Channel 10 (CWC10), according to a release the city posted on its website.

On the video, viewers will meet Kim, a DuPage County mom who thought “not my kid” in relation to heroin addiction. Before he started using heroin, her son had been a normal kid and an accomplished athlete who had a strong network of friends.

Kim learned what discussion moderator Kent Williams, of the DuPage County Chiefs of Police Association, said DuPage County police departments already knew — that heroin is an equal opportunity epidemic.

Williams points out in the video that heroin cuts across all age groups and socioeconomic groups, and its consequences are deadly. Kim and her son, a recovering heroin addict, share their story in the video.

Williams says that the story of Nick and Kim reflects a growing epidemic in the area. He cited as evidence the number of heroin-related deaths — in July 2013 alone, there were 18 heroin deaths in DuPage County.

Related

• Read the full announcement
• Watch teh video
• Aug. 28, 2013: Two Glen Ellyn Residents Among 31 Arrested in Heroin Bust
• Aug. 28, 2013: Task Force to Study Heroin Use Among Youth in Illinois
• Aug. 10, 2013: DuPage Man Charged in Heroin Death of Teen
• Jan. 18, 2013: Police to Host Forum on Suburban Heroin Epidemic
• July 24, 2013: Warrenville Brothers Arrested on Heroin-Dealing Charges
• July 1, 2013: 7 Indicted, 30 Kilos of Drugs Seized in Multi-County Bust
• June 6, 2013: West Chicago Man Sentenced to 6.5 Years for Heroin Possession
• March 1, 2013: Officials Charge 11 Men After West Suburban Drug Ring Investigation