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Local Families Confront The Pain Of Heroin Addiction

CORAOPOLIS (KDKA) -- The problem of heroin addiction, and the growing use of opioid-related painkillers was front and center Thursday night in Coraopolis.

Dozens of people met in a downtown parking lot, many had lost loved ones to drug overdoses, and met in a gathering sponsored by the Pittsburgh chapter of a group known as NOM, short for "Not One More."

Under a threatening sky, Coraopolis Police Chief Ronald Denbow told the meeting, "Somewhere down the line, this is going to affect you, that's why, as a community, we have to work together on this."

Just this week, the Allegheny County Health Department issued a report which said that in the past five years, the number of opioid-related deaths in the county had more than doubled.  The report said the findings were "unacceptable."

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Sandy Kotwica of Imperial said that her son, Chip, died of a drug overdose at the age of 30.

"I found my son, he had been dead for four days; it's not something any mother should have to go through," Kotwica told KDKA-TV's Ralph Iannotti.

Kotwica said her son was an electrical engineer, and his problems with drugs started when he was put on painkillers by a doctor.  She said "just because a physician prescribes a drug, it doesn't mean it's safe."

John Crow, 36, of Beechview overdosed two years ago.  His aunt, Marion Luisi, said, "He got caught up in the disease, and unfortunately, his life was cut short."

Carol Bartolomucci's son, Peter, died of an overdose, he got hooked on painkillers first, and then, he gradually got addicted to heroin.

"We would have never thought this would have happened to our family, but, it did, and don't think it can't happen to you or your family," Bartolomucci said.

She warned that heroin and pain killer addiction epidemic is "killing a whole generation."

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