Local Mother Lost Her Son to Heroin Overdose

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (WJBK) -- Heroin use is on the rise. In Warren, eight people have died from overdoses in the past few months, and police and parents are declaring war on the deadly drug. Thursday, we spoke with parents who are fed up.

"He loved music. He played the guitar and he sang. Everywhere he went, that's all he did was sing. Everybody knew him for that," said Holly Barron.

24-year-old Aaron Miles had been a good student at Cousino High School in Warren. The day after Thanksgiving, he appeared to have fallen asleep in his car in the family driveway.

A neighbor called his mother, who was not home, but Miles could not be revived -- dead from a heroin overdose.

"I knew something was wrong, but they've always got an excuse and you want to believe your kids," Barron said.

Experts say some start with prescription drugs, but those are too costly and that was Miles' path.

"I think that nobody can afford what they start with so they end up on the cheapest drug there is, which is heroin," Barron explained.

"People think that this can't happen in their family, but when we go into eighth grade classes and talk and we ask how many of you have tried an illegal prescription drug, 85-percent of the kids are raising their hand," said Macomb County District Judge Linda Davis. "It is the new alcohol and marijuana for young people."

The judge meets with parents and students, including parents who have lost children, like Barron, and those who are trying to save their children, like Margaret Brune of Clinton Township. She's president of FAN, which stands for Families Against Narcotics.

"He went to a Christian school until eighth grade. He was an athlete, ice hockey player, basketball player, ice hockey referee, and in his senior year, I found out that he was addicted to heroin," said Brune.

Fraser Police Officer Jason Poole also educates parents through FAN.

"When we talk about heroin, we'll bring actual heroin and show the parents this is what it looks like. This is the paraphernalia that's associated with it," he said.

"With opiate drugs, which is what we're talking about here, when you start seeing signs of it, your child is already an addict, so what's really important is to educate before you ever get to that point," Judge Davis said.

There's a resource for you and your family. We made a visit with FAN -- Families Against Narcotics. You can learn more on their website, FamiliesAgainstNarcotics.org.

There are families desperate to get their kids into rehab, but rehab is expensive and some families don't have the money. What then?

Barron told us that her son was asking for rehab before he died. He finally got it, but it was a struggle. The insurance companies many times refuse to pay for it, and it can be very costly. That's why resources like Families Against Narcotics can help to steer a family in the right direction.