Intervention

When he was three, Gabe’s mother abandoned him on the streets of Calcutta, but he was adopted by a young American couple. Gabe seemed happy in America, but he secretly felt like an outsider. In high school he started to rebel and resent his Christian upbringing. He began using marijuana and cocaine, and later graduated to heroin. Then he squandered all of the $37,500 he received after a car accident to support his drug habit. Now the family fears that without an intervention, Gabe’s addiction and depression will soon lead to his death.

Forty-year-old Jeff was once known as a heroic firefighter after he saved his partner’s life. But Jeff was traumatized by the harrowing event, and his drinking increased drastically. Jeff has received two DUI’s and been rushed to the hospital numerous times for seizures. Jeff’s alcoholism has also forced his son and wife to move out. Now his family’s last hope is that an intervention will stop Jeff from drinking himself to death.

Identical twins Sonia and Julia, 22, shared everything as children and grew up in a loving home. Their parents emigrated from Poland and worked multiple jobs to send their children to the best schools. But now the family’s American Dream is turning into a nightmare as Sonia and Julia are withering away from anorexia. The sisters’ competitive spirit has turned to bitter rivalry and jealousy. And they’re so stricken with fear that the other will burn more calories that they never let each other out of their sight. Now their desperate parents seek help.

When he was five, Donald’s parents divorced. He longed for a strong father figure, but his father had very little contact with him. Donald became a gifted boxer, but ultimately chose drugs over his career. He joined a violent gang and turned to stealing to support his crack habit. Now his son is angry because Donald wasn’t there for him growing up. Donald’s girlfriend just had a baby and Donald has a second chance to be a good father, but his crack use is spiraling out of control.

Jason grew up in a seemingly perfect upper-middle class family in Littleton, Col., but he struggled to gain his father’s approval. When Jason failed to make the baseball team his freshman year, Jason and his father were devastated. Jason began rollerblading and excelled, but he quit because his father disapproved of the sport. Jason turned to drugs and by his senior year he was an addict. A year later, the Columbine High School shooters named Jason one of the bullies they retaliated against. Overcome with guilt and grief for his dead classmates, Jason’s addiction escalated. Now Jason lives on the streets of Denver, and his family is in pieces.