Who are you? by The Who

Born in France and entranced by music, Zak Vernex-Loset always loved to play the guitar and write songs.

“He called himself the Fresh French, and he always asked me what my opinion was on his songs and if his transitions sounded sloppy or messy. He’d make sure that it was perfect,” Chloe said. “His music was amazing. And the way his face brightened up when he was making or listening to music was probably one of my favorite things to see.”

However, Zak’s love for music soon grew into something more than just a source of inspiration.

At the age of 13, his obsession with Nirvana and Kurt Cobain, whose songs and lifestyles often promoted drug use, reached a new level when he and his friends began using prescription painkillers to get high. Soon, his painkiller addiction manifested into heroin use.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, “Nearly half of young people who inject heroin surveyed in three recent studies reported abusing prescription opioids before starting to use heroin. Some individuals reported switching to heroin because it is cheaper and easier to obtain than prescription opioids.”

Despite the small dip in Zak’s grades, his behavior at home seemed to reflect that of a normal rebellious teenager, and until Chloe entered her last year of middle school, Zak’s addiction remained a secret from most of his family.

“When I was in eighth grade, my sister finally told my parents that Zak had a scary heroin addiction. I was confused; I didn’t really understand most of it. My mother and father kept things really quiet, but I do know that my mother cried a lot and was really scared for him,” Chloe said.

Thereafter, Zak’s family admitted him into a local rehabilitation center, Ridgeview Institute, that aided in his brief recovery.

Ridgeview’s 12-step program gave Zak a six-week period to fully detox and face withdrawals from heroin without the help of any medication created to stop the body’s heroin cravings, such as Suboxone.

In simpler terms, Zak faced the complete repercussions of heroin detoxification without the support of his family: nausea, shaking, agitation, sweating, and depression. He had no access to a cell phone, and the facility only allowed one phone call per day, worrying Chloe to no end.

“A lot of the time, we had no idea what was going on. He felt very isolated and scared because he was going through recovery without us there to hold his hands and tell him we were there for him,” she said. “It made him feel like a prisoner a lot of the time. It really took a toll on his mental health.”

However, Ridgeview provided services for families of recovering drug addicts as well, holding special meetings where families asked questions to better understand the effects of drug addiction through the user’s point of view.

This program, Families Anonymous, created an environment where families could express their concerns and confusion without fear of judgment.

In another meeting offered by the facility, families could ask questions and share experiences without the presence of the patients, making it more comfortable to cite personal situations without throwing their recovering family member under the bus.

“It really helped my family feel less alone,” Chloe said.

Once Zak completed his six weeks at Ridgeview, his family admitted him into another program: Safety Net.

Safety Net, an apartment complex where Zak roomed with other recovering drug addicts and alcoholics, required residents to participate in community service and find a job. By administering random drug tests each week, Safety Net ensured the continued recovery of its residents while they enjoyed a higher standard of living.

“It really seemed like he was doing wonderfully,” Chloe said.

Unfortunately, the Vernex-Loset family never could have known that Zak’s progress and recovery would not follow through.