Season 20: All Episodes Talk: Heroin and More Heroin

[mythoughtis]

Philadelphia's heroin Hub 

On 8/6/2019 at 7:06 PM, mythoughtis said:

Philadelphia's heroin Hub 

I must be getting jaded because I found no sympathy for Janine, her Mom, Aunt, or Nicole.   

[tvisme]

41 minutes ago, mythoughtis said:

Philadelphia's heroin Hub 

I must be getting jaded because I found no sympathy for Janine, her Mom, Aunt, or Nicole.   

Wow, really?!  Poor Janine and Nicole.  Those are rough lives.

[mythoughtis]

38 minutes ago, tvisme said:

Wow, really?!  Poor Janine and Nicole.  Those are rough lives.

Yes, they are- but I found myself angry at all of them.   Now, her cousin whose world is now a mess because she’s there- I have sympathy for him.  

But Janine- who left treatment after 28 days, gets told her Dad died of an overdose so she runs out and gets high?  Nicole, who met her boyfriend in rehab and now they get high  together?  Maybe it’s the mass murders this last weekend  that has me on edge, but I just can’t feel sorry for these two people, 

Edited August 7, 2019 by mythoughtis

[sara416]

Janine, I get it. the rehab model in this country sucks, to be frank. 28 days is long enough to detox and get you away from the people, places, and things that you need to get away from, but it is not long enough to teach you the long term coping skills that you need to face the life you left behind. Especially if there is trauma. Trauma takes time to work through, and a lot of rehabs have you work only on the substnace abuse which you cannot overcome unless you deal with the underlying issues. For her to have only 28 days clean and then find out her father, who she had a trauma bond with, had died of an overdose, it totally makes sense that she reverted back to her own coping skills. If you are thinking with your logical brain, you are going to say "I don't want to die like he did, so I'd better not use". But an addict brain does not think this way. She clearly didn't have the resilience built up yet to cope with it. Her aunt needs to learn some healthy boundaries though because she's not helping herself or her son. 

I can't believe Nicole is alive. It sounds cruel, but she really looks like the walking dead. And that whole area they are in is so sad. There are people just nodding off and passing out while standing up and no one blinks an eye. 

I'm not even going to start on the protestors that are angry about trying to get these people treatment instead of just kicking them out or arresting them. If I start on them I will never stop. 

[FlowerofCarnage]

Philadelphian here! I work near Kensington & Somerset.  Watching  the show, it's  hard for me to feel any empathy for these folks. I know this sounds horrible but these people have made riding the El almost unbearable. Going to work, I have to keep one eye on the ground to make sure I don't  come into contact with any needles. We now have an outbreak of Hepatitis A in Kensington from all of the poop left by addicts. 

[Red Bridey]

I wonder how desperate you would have to be to use a prostitute like Nicole for anything sexual.  Yeesh...that's a scary-looking woman.

I have (or used to have) family in Upper Darby and it makes me sad that it's the focus of this new season.

[lb60]

South Jersey in the house! I appreciated the Wawa shout-out in the first episode. lol

If Nicole lives until the end of the series it will be nothing short of a miracle.

[tvisme]

This is a for episode 2 that aired last night: I like the new guy, Bill.  He seems like a good dude.  But his leg though!  OMG.

Overall, I can't get over how bad Kensington is.  The addiction just seems out of control there. 

[Court]

The only people I feel sorry for is  Nicole's kids.  

[Keekski]

On 8/8/2019 at 5:23 PM, FlowerofCarnage said:

Philadelphian here! I work near Kensington & Somerset.  Watching  the show, it's  hard for me to feel any empathy for these folks. I know this sounds horrible but these people have made riding the El almost unbearable. Going to work, I have to keep one eye on the ground to make sure I don't  come into contact with any needles. We now have an outbreak of Hepatitis A in Kensington from all of the poop left by addicts. 

Jesus. This seems miles worse the heroin triangle in Atlanta they did last season. 

[FlowerofCarnage]

19 hours ago, Keekski said:

Jesus. This seems miles worse the heroin triangle in Atlanta they did last season. 

It's  bad. There is an Instagram account dedicated to how bad things are. *warning*  serious graphic content*

https://instagram.com/kensingtonbeach_?igshid=1p1zglpd3gea7

[Keekski]

8 hours ago, FlowerofCarnage said:

It's  bad. There is an Instagram account dedicated to how bad things are. *warning*  serious graphic content*

https://instagram.com/kensingtonbeach_?igshid=1p1zglpd3gea7

Jesus. 

[mythoughtis]

On 8/14/2019 at 9:52 PM, Court said:

The only people I feel sorry for is  Nicole's kids.  

and Janine’s cousin - Donna’s son.  Maybe Nicole’s sisters who seem like they are actually concerned and trying to help.  

The best place for Janine was in that jail.  Let her stay there for a while longer and then go to treatment. 

I say  this above  after I watched episode two.

  I cannot believe Nicole has seven children ranging in age from two( adopted out of the family already? ) to 19. 

Edited August 21, 2019 by mythoughtis

[zengirl1215]

On 8/14/2019 at 3:35 PM, lb60 said:

South Jersey in the house! I appreciated the Wawa shout-out in the first episode. lol

If Nicole lives until the end of the series it will be nothing short of a miracle.

I'm South Jersey too and Wawa is the best! But being so close to Philly and going there for sporting events and social things, seeing how bad the drugs have gotten is scary and depressing. Though my heart breaks for those involved, I feel bad for the people like the poster who said they have to watch out for needles and drug addicts riding the El or feces all over the place. I can't even imagine having to endure that day in and day out. 

[Empress1]

I grew up in Philly (Mount Airy, northwest part of the city). Growing up, Kensington was an area we were told to avoid - it's always been rough, and as a Black person it wasn't considered a neighborhood in which we were welcome.

I currently have a friend who is a psychologist working in community behavioral health in Philly. She and her colleagues received Narcan training and she's had to use it several times at work. She's also had clients nod out during sessions with her.

On 8/14/2019 at 10:52 PM, Court said:

The only people I feel sorry for is  Nicole's kids.  

I feel sorry for all the addicts' families. The addicts put them through a lot.

On 8/14/2019 at 3:32 PM, Red Bridey said:

I wonder how desperate you would have to be to use a prostitute like Nicole for anything sexual.  Yeesh...that's a scary-looking woman.

She really is. She barely has teeth, scabs all over her body ... she's so far gone. I'm shocked she's alive. As her interventionist put it, she's 40 and looks 60 - and not a healthy 60, either.

The one who is in the relationship with Bill, who is in recovery while Bill is in active addiction ... yikes. That is unwise. You can tell Bill has a good heart but he's also in the thick of it. And again, I think he's 36 and looks 20 years older.

[Keekski]

Do you think a mod can change the title of this thread to encompass all of the episodes of this season? 

[Crazydoxielady]

SO BORED with this season. The heroin addicts just depress me. The never ending needles. UGH! I have deleted all episodes after trying with the first this season. Come on Intervention, pepper in some meth heads, alcoholics and crack-o-lackins!

[theajw]

Michael seems like a good interventionist, but my God, I am so distracted by that neck tattoo.  

[pasdetrois]

The family of women whom Michael is trying to help and who fight with each other - I swear I saw one of them nodding out in the most recent episode. The oldest woman has the blonde bob/pageboy - the nodder is her daughter, I think. What's that about?

[BengalKitty]

On 8/28/2019 at 6:46 PM, theajw said:

Michael seems like a good interventionist, but my God, I am so distracted by that neck tattoo.  

Did you notice when he does his TH, if the camera is straight on, it looks like the skull is talking, too.  Haven't decided if that's cool, or just creepy.

[mythoughtis]

Janine looked really nice.  I hope she made it thru the week before treatment.  I was not a fan of hers in her addiction  episodes, but sober... she seems really intelligent and aware. 

I think this is the first Intervention  episode of a couple where they got to go to the airport and on the same flight.  Probably really helpful to Bill in this case. 

How do 4 year olds not know that the new woman Dad brought home is not their mother? Were there no pictures of their Mom that they ever saw between her death and the new Mom? How did they manage to fool them until their 18th birthday? 

Edited August 31, 2019 by mythoughtis

[pasdetrois]

I thought that the father allowing the stepmother to dictate a lie about parentage spoke volumes.

[Azubah]

And then the girls get mad at the stepmom and she just leaves? After raising them since age 4? The whole story is a bit fishy.

[mythoughtis]

3 hours ago, Azubah said:

And then the girls get mad at the stepmom and she just leaves? After raising them since age 4? The whole story is a bit fishy.

She and Dad were already divorced by then I think.   New stepMom has been in the picture for several years. 

Edited September 2, 2019 by mythoughtis

[sara416]

On 8/30/2019 at 9:30 PM, mythoughtis said:

How do 4 year olds not know that the new woman Dad brought home is not their mother? Were there no pictures of their Mom that they ever saw between her death and the new Mom? How did they manage to fool them until their 18th birthday? 

I thought that was so strange too. 4 years is a long time and there are typically a lot of photos taken of babies and children in those first four years. They never saw a picture of their mother during pregnancy with them? No first birthday family photos? No question about where mom was until they were 18? I feel like there is something more to this story for sure. 

[mythoughtis]

This weeks episode was just depressing. And I really can’t point as to why. 

There were bright spots, Janine getting into treatment, Nicole’s beautiful transformation. She seems somewhat manic maybe?  

But EJ, what a messy life he has. Sounds like no one protected him from his Mom either.  Dad throws him out of the house, but sister says Dad is still enabling him. Amanda has a caring ex-boyfriend all of a sudden?!

[MinorL]

As a lawyer, I loved the Treatment Court judge. 

[mythoughtis]

4 hours ago, MinorL said:

As a lawyer, I loved the Treatment Court judge. 

Another bright spot in the episode.  I loved that part. 

[Empress1]

8 hours ago, mythoughtis said:

Amanda has a caring ex-boyfriend all of a sudden?!

He's cute, too. Nice and tall. When Amanda was laying out what she'd have with Conor vs. what she'd have with the dude who is in jail - and not just in jail, but asking her to smuggle drugs to him in jail - I was like, this is how you know how strong addiction is, because this is the easiest choice in the world. On one hand: a life with a good man who loves me and has a stable job. On the other, a life with a man who'd stick a needle in my arm and have me risk my freedom by smuggling drugs into a jail.

I felt sad for EJ watching him wander around lost.

I can't wait to see Nicole with teeth, although since she's an addict, does that mean they can't use any pain medication on her?

[pasdetrois]

I think Nicole will get implants and dentures. I know someone, a heavy smoker, who couldn't save any of his teeth, and they were all pulled, followed by four implants and full dentures. The only pain medication was Tylenol with codeine, the latter of which is habit-forming. Her squirming and fidgeting may be neurological damage from long-term drug use, or perhaps ADHD.

I question Amanda's boyfriend. For starters, why would the father of a young boy spend time with an addict? Maybe he's using her for sex. And now to be on TV. His sound bites seemed rehearsed. Her family stated that she is easily influenced.

Janine looks dead in the eyes. I hope she is much better since this season was produced.

Edited September 4, 2019 by pasdetrois

[Guest]

7 hours ago, Empress1 said:

16 hours ago, mythoughtis said:

Amanda has a caring ex-boyfriend all of a sudden?!

He's cute, too. Nice and tall.

That guy was hot. But I question what his own malfunction is by thinking Amanda is some great choice for a life partner particularly considering he has a child. Why willingly expose your kid to someone with a raging heroin habit? Even more baffling, I'm pretty sure I heard him say he was employed as an EMT and yet, there he and Amanda were, sailing down what looked to be 95, with neither one of them wearing a seat belt. Surely he's been exposed to the kind of damage that's done to a car passenger in an accident who wasn't wearing one? Dummy.

Maybe I missed it, but how did Amanda's birth mother die? I'm assuming it was in some DUI-related accident? 

And a minot nitpick: I grew up in Philly. When they say someone lives in Mayfair, PA there is no such place. Yes, there's a Mayfair--but it's a section of Philly, not a city unto itself in Pennsylvania. Like there is no Kensington, PA or Parkwood, PA. Those are all just sections of the city. They're all considered Philadelphia. 

[Azubah]

9 hours ago, Empress1 said:

I can't wait to see Nicole with teeth, although since she's an addict, does that mean they can't use any pain medication on her?

I am having extensive dental restoration work done, and it's all been done with lidocaine (Novocaine hasn't actually been used in years), and then afterwards they tell me to take Tylenol and ibuprofen. 

1 hour ago, Giant Misfit said:

Maybe I missed it, but how did Amanda's birth mother die? I'm assuming it was in some DUI-related accident? 

Well, it sounded like Mom was murdered. Amanda had a conversation with her murderer. I still say there's more to the whole story about that family.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Azubah said:

I still say there's more to the whole story about that family.

100% agree. What even was her relationship with her mother who raised her? I mean, I can understand being super sad about never meeting her birth mother, but to develop some heroin habit because of it? Huh?

I don't like this format of Intervention at all. I think the season would have been far more interesting with a single-subject focus per episode. 

[pasdetrois]

I've speculated in the past that they've moved to this format to save money in production costs. The entire season is shot in one city.

[mythoughtis]

29 minutes ago, pasdetrois said:

I've speculated in the past that they've moved to this format to save money in production costs. The entire season is shot in one city.

They could still do that.  They would just need to edit it differently so that we only saw one or two addicts per episode.   Concentrate on Nicole and her boyfriend one episode, Janine another, Bill and his girlfriend a third episode etc. 

Edited September 5, 2019 by mythoughtis

[sara416]

@Giant Misfit, I am so glad I'm not the only one horrified by the lack of a seat belt on someone who said he was an EMT. I couldn't stop staring at it!

[Empress1]

14 hours ago, Giant Misfit said:

And a minot nitpick: I grew up in Philly. When they say someone lives in Mayfair, PA there is no such place. Yes, there's a Mayfair--but it's a section of Philly, not a city unto itself in Pennsylvania. Like there is no Kensington, PA or Parkwood, PA. Those are all just sections of the city. They're all considered Philadelphia. 

That bothered me too. Upper Darby is a suburb of Philly so when they say Upper Darby, PA, it's correct, but you don't say Mayfair, PA any more than you'd say South Philadelphia, PA.

[Court]

I think they said Amanda's mom was shot in the head in a drive by? 

[Azubah]

15 hours ago, Court said:

I think they said Amanda's mom was shot in the head in a drive by? 

Did they? I missed that. I wonder where she was when that happened. 

[Empress1]

On 9/6/2019 at 4:16 PM, Azubah said:

Did they? I missed that. I wonder where she was when that happened. 

The girls were babies when their mother died. I think the timeline is: girls are less than 1 when Bio Mom dies, dad remarries Stepmom when girls are 4 (which means he probably started dating her before then, so it's possible that their earliest memories are indeed of her), girls find out at 18 that Stepmom isn't their bio mom, and I think Stepmom and Dad may have been divorced by then because he's been with his current partner for nine years. If not by then then not long after. I think the twins are in their late 20s now.

[mythoughtis]

So... a two hour recap of 5 episodes that we all watched the last 5 weeks.  Not a single bit of new footage. 

Followed by a 1 hour new episode that was mislabeled on my cable guide channel.  So I am glad I watched that live.  

5 successes or or least 5 successes in progress.   Then there was Amanda. Who seems determined to throw her life away.   While knowing she is doing it. I’m not sure what all the trauma in her childhood was since all we were told was that her Bio Mom died when she was so young she didn’t even remember her.   And she didn’t even know that until she was an adult. Her twin sister is only traumatized by Amanda. 

Janine and Nicole looked fantastic- well, other than  the swelling of Nicole’s face due to the dental work.  I worry about her being back with her fiancée though.  

Anyone know why why Candy and Jeff were not in these episodes?  Age causing them to go part-time? 

Edited September 11, 2019 by mythoughtis

[hookedontv]

I miss the “regular” Intervention series, but overall this was an interesting show. Addiction is evil and really gets its claws into people. 

Couple of side notes-I’ve had friends who went to the place where Nicole went-High Watch. I made a few trips there on visiting days and the facility is nice. As with any rehab, there are both success stories and those who relapse. 

And I have to say this to get it off my chest-man, the Philly accent absolutely grates on my ears. It always had ever since I was a kid. I can tell if someone is from the Philly or even Maryland area pretty quickly and it makes my ears bleed! 

[pasdetrois]

I don't go back and research how previous subjects are doing, but I think that statistically people who are brought into the Intervention experience do well.

I love the drug court construct and hope it grows.

My second cousin was enabled in addiction by his parent for 15 years. When I visited I would lock my valuables in my car. It was only when the parent died and the only living family member refused to enable my cousin that he went into recovery. It's a wonder he is alive.

I stopped reading the news updates on the greedy, immoral pharma companies that systematically pushed out opioids for years despite the obvious problems, not to mention certain doctors and pharmacies. The opioid crisis is a public epidemic doing extreme damage to community infrastructure. So much rage about the people that were complicit.

The Philly folks in recovery look great. Amanda is more obsessed with men that with getting clean.

Edited September 15, 2019 by pasdetrois

[tvisme]

I'm thrilled for all the success stories, but especially Nicole, who looks like she made a miraculous recovery.  

[Empress1]

On 9/12/2019 at 8:51 AM, pasdetrois said:

Amanda is more obsessed with men that with getting clean.

I think Amanda is going to die. I hope I'm wrong, but I think she'll succumb to her addiction. Her eyes are dead and she said straight up that she doesn't think she deserves the help. She doesn't care about her life. Candy always says if the drugs don't get you, the lifestyle will, and Amanda is in it too deep. She doesn't want to be clean. She SAID she doesn't want to be clean.

I think Bill will make a great interventionist. You can tell that at the core, he's a really good person. Same with Alana (who I think is beautiful, though IMO she should let her brows grow in more).

I worry about Jeanine in Philly. I feel like she's one in particular who needs to be physically far away from her old life.

On 9/11/2019 at 7:07 PM, hookedontv said:

And I have to say this to get it off my chest-man, the Philly accent absolutely grates on my ears. It always had ever since I was a kid. I can tell if someone is from the Philly or even Maryland area pretty quickly and it makes my ears bleed! 

Ha, I grew up in Philly and I agree with you. I don't have it (I have a newscaster voice). My dad has a very mild one - you can hear it in his A's, like when he says "glad." His parents had mild ones too. Funny you say that about Maryland: not long ago at an alumni event, I met a guy who grew up in Baltimore (he's in his 50s) and I was like, "you from Philly?" He said no and asked why I thought so and I said it was because of his accent (which was mild but there). He laughed and said he was from Baltimore and I was like "no wonder!"

[NorthernRoadie]

It saddened us greatly to see Amanda fail, she is the poster girl for how bad this can be as it relates to mental illness.  I wish there was some way to track her progress after the show,  whether it be good or bad.

[TVbitch]

Just finished this series. I too questioned Amanda's old boyfriend. How does a sane person (with a young child) repeatedly say that a severe heroin addict who is with another man is "the girl for him." 

I don't like this format either cuz I can't remember everyone's story from week to week. 

Ken is still looking good!

The intervention directory has a bit of an update on some of them in the comments. 

http://intervention-directory.com/2019/09/the-heroin-hub-chapter-6/

[Cmac3713]

On 9/30/2019 at 11:11 AM, TVbitch said:

Just finished this series. I too questioned Amanda's old boyfriend. How does a sane person (with a young child) repeatedly say that a severe heroin addict who is with another man is "the girl for him." 

I don't like this format either cuz I can't remember everyone's story from week to week. 

Ken is still looking good!

The intervention directory has a bit of an update on some of them in the comments. 

http://intervention-directory.com/2019/09/the-heroin-hub-chapter-6/

I guess you would have to know the girl she was before that.   And not be so unwilling to fight for someone.     Your speaking to him btw. 

[mythoughtis]

On 3/24/2020 at 6:51 AM, Cmac3713 said:

I guess you would have to know the girl she was before that.   And not be so unwilling to fight for someone.     Your speaking to him btw. 

Is she in treatment yet?  

[livingdeadgirl]

I've known Janine almost her whole life. I used to babysit her. the poor kid is so smart and used to be so pretty (still is, but not the same way she was), but she never stood a chance. her family (all of them) are either unhinged or insensitive. my mother was part of her story. she just wants to feel something positive, something close to happiness or love, but she can't