NARRATOR: This program contains subject
matter and language that may be disturbing to some viewers.
Viewer discretion is advised.
My name is Jasmine.
I'm 26-years-old.
Oh, I remember when my mom did that.
Everybody loves Jasmine.
LISE: She's trying to pretend that she's happy.
But she's not.
You can tell.
Yo, Paul.
CARMEN: Jasmine when she's using--
Can we get high or what?
But I need to get high.
CARMEN: --totally different person, night and day.
I [bleep] hate my mom.
She has a big [bleep] mouth.
And she likes to ruin my life.
I'm addicted to fentanyl.
[music playing]
Sometimes I'll end up walking around with stuff like that
because I get so high.
And I have pockmarks all over my face.
She might spend $1,200 $1,500 in one day.
CARMEN: My daughter is somewhere in there.
But that's not her right now.
Yeah, I'll probably do my makeup, and get all dolled up,
maybe go do a couple of tricks.
I know I'm an addict.
I can see myself spiraling out of control.
[laughter]
Jasmine will not survive.
Sooner or later, I'm going to get a phone call.
And I have no friends.
And I have no life.
So--
[laughter]
Dada.
REG: Hi.
I had a really good upbringing for the most part.
I did a lot of stuff.
From dancing when she was 4-years-old
to cadets when she was 10, figure skating competitions.
And she excelled.
She was always good at whatever she done.
I had lots of help from my family,
especially my mom and dad.
Say "hello, camera."
Jasmine and I are very close ever
since she was a little baby.
Well, I think it had a lot to do with not having a father.
And I felt like I had to be the father.
LISE: She's more like a daughter to him than a granddaughter.
He helped raise her.
She was used to having my mom and dad always being there.
And I was with her all the time.
I wouldn't go no place hardly without her.
[music playing]
JAKE: But I really looked up to my sister.
I thought she was my role model.
I wanted to be like her.
She was a happy girl until I think around 11 or 12
she started to change.
JASMINE: My mom didn't have time to discipline me I guess.
I worked.
I worked 12 days in a row.
I was able to just roam free.
JESSIKA: Jasmine seemed to be able to have all of her friends
over and pretty much do what she wanted when she wanted.
We'd smoke weed pretty much every day.
We would drink occasionally when we would get it.
We experimented with coke.
JASMINE: My mom tried to get me up for school.
Sometimes I would pretend to go to school and come home.
She didn't do much from the age of 14 to 16.
She stayed at home and partied, slept all day and up all night.
And she got into lots of trouble.
I cut off her friends.
I turned them away.
I said, she's trying to get clean.
She doesn't want to do drugs anymore.
And you're not allowed here.
And then, she started to get clean.
She went back to school.
She excelled.
Jasmine was doing awesome, very awesome.
But it didn't last.
JASMINE: I was 18 when I started stealing
OxyContin from my grandmother.
That went on for only a couple of months.
She caught on.
And she knew, and still loved me,
and helped me through my withdrawals and everything.
And two weeks later, she passed away.
JAKE: My grandmother was everything to us.
CARMEN: She was the glue to our family.
Whatever would be broken, she would fix.
JAKE: Knowing Jasmine, it definitely hurt her a lot.
I miss her.
REG: Hey.
JASMINE: You're OK?
REG: Yeah, I'm all right.
[music playing]
JASMINE: I was three years clean, doing great.
I had a good job.
James and I fell in love working together.
And knowing Jasmine's past addictions,
she disclosed that to me openly.
I really had faith that she would be able to get better.
JASMINE: I got pregnant nine months into the relationship.
I always wanted a child.
So it was really good news to me.
[music playing]
JASMINE: I remember Oakley's first time
saying mom, his first steps.
And I was sober.
JESSIKA: When Jasmine first had Oakley,
she was so proud and so happy.
And she even said, I'm going to do
everything for my son, whatever it takes, no matter what.
JASMINE: I was a good mom.
Oakley was very well taken care of.
And he was happy.
CARMEN: Jasmine can be very stubborn.
And so is James.
So they butted heads quite often.
We were at home together.
And she seemed jittery and nervous.
And she was picking at her face.
I thought she's high.
So I decided then that I was going to take Oakley.
And I was going to go stay at my mom's for the night.
Jasmine was so irate that I actually
feared that as soon as I turn my back on her
she would put a knife in my back.
And so, I pushed her out of the way.
I called my mom.
And she was the one to make the police call.
And I was charged with assault.
And I was given conditions not to communicate.
James and I had a no contact order.
And that meant Oakley spent half the time with him.
She wanted to be more with Oakley.
And she wasn't.
And that made her feel bad.
JASMINE: I started just with drinking.
And drinking led to a really big relapse.
[music playing]
REG: This is it here?
JASMINE: Oh, my god.
We're here.
Still mad at me?
Yeah.
Love you.
No kid should have to live through seeing
his sister killing herself.
CARMEN: Jasmine stole his video games to sell for drugs.
Sisters and brothers don't treat each other like that.
He hates her.
It's definitely not a normal life, the way we've
been living these past months.
It's just stress, after stress, after stress.
JASMINE: You chase your next high.
And addicts will find their next high
whether they have to beg, borrow,
or steal, or sell their body.
[music playing]
MAN: (ON PHONE) And so what would it be for two hours?
Well, usually it's $200 for an hour.
MAN: (ON PHONE) OK.
And you want to do two hours?
I will definitely make sure you have a great time.
I'm emotionally burned.
And I just sometimes think that if the police
do knock at my door and tell me my daughter is dead,
it'll be OK.
[music playing]
MAUREEN: Come on in, Jasmine.
Come on in.
Come on in. WOMAN: Come on, girl.
Walk in.
MAUREEN: Come on in, Jasmine.
Come on in. WOMAN: Walk in.
MAUREEN: Hi, Jas.
Come on in.
My name is Maureen.
It's OK, bud.
It's OK.
It's OK, sweetheart.
It's OK, honey.
Yeah.
MAUREEN: Your family is here to save your life.
Jasmine.
Jake.
JAKE: I'm here because I care and love you.
And I care--
I'm so sorry.
JAKE: --and love about this family.
This isn't you.
This isn't the sister I looked up to as a kid.
Sorry, Jake.
JAKE: On occasion, you've told me what
you had to do to get money.
And one morning, you told me your life
was threatened at gunpoint.
If you turn down this offer and continue using,
the hope that we all have here today is going to be destroyed.
And then, you'll truly be alone with no family to turn to.
My dear Jasmine, your addiction
has taken over your life.
It has robbed your beautiful baby boy of his mother
and me my daughter.
I'm sorry if I've ever made you feel abandoned,
unloved, or unwanted.
This is so far from the truth.
I want to work on this together and begin healing together.
I promise I will be there every step of the way.
If you don't accept the help that is offered to you today,
I sadly have to tell you there will be no more communication.
You will no longer be welcome in my home.
And there will be no more Oakley visits.
REG: Dear Jasmine, I am writing to you because I love
you and care for you very much.
The biggest fear for me is when I
see you leaving my apartment not knowing
if I will ever see you again.
Please accept this offer for help.
MAUREEN: So it's my job today Jasmine
to ask you if you're ready to accept help for your addiction.
Please accept this.
I guess so.
Yes?
You guess so?
I have nothing to lose, yes.
You said yes?
[applause]
That's great.
[inaudible]
I know you're scared.
I know.
I didn't have a life before I came here.
I was miserable.
I was alone.
Nobody wanted to be around me.
And today, that's not the case.
I've made friends here, like real connections with people.
I've been able to open up and be myself for once in my life.
Being here, I've been able to learn how to forgive myself
so one day those that I've harmed can forgive me also.
I look forward to seeing my mother, and my brother,
my grandfather, and my son.
And I feel like I've missed so much because of the stuff
I was doing that when I get back home, yeah,
I'm really going to learn how to appreciate them more.
[music playing]
(SINGING) Get back, this train's coming down.