Anyone who's seen the 1990s film "Trainspotting" remembers the gruesome scene in which an otherwise healthy infant dies from days (weeks?) of neglect because her drug-addicted parents were constantly nodding-off from hard narcotics.
That was a work of fiction, but the humanity-draining qualities of heroin and similarly hard drugs are very real.
Serious drug addicts are called fiends for a reason, as in the sad story of a Northwest Side couple whose alleged drug use was so severe that police found their three children without food and in "squalid" conditions (Sun Times). In fact, police say the home contained no food at all and the three boys, aged eight months to four years old, appeared malnourished.
Police claim to have found heroin on both parents, 28-year-old Heber Gomez and 27-year-old Nicole Zarei, and charged them with felony possession of a controlled substance (one count each) and endangering the life and health of a child (three counts each). The endangerment charges are akin to child abuse.
The three boys were taken to Our Lady of the Resurrection Medical Center for a health evaluation and are in the custody of the Dept. of Children and Family Services.
It's unfortunate that these three boys will grow up within the system. But thankfully they were rescued from squalor at a relatively young age and at least have a shot at a better life.
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Illinios Child Protection Information and Hotline (Dept. of Children and Family Services)
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Illinois: Child Abuse and Neglect (Child Welfare Information Gateway)
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Chicago criminal attorney directory (FindLaw)
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