Clik here to view.
Sheboygan, WI (WHBL) - Kelly Kemps’ son Trevor has been addicted to opiates since 2005. The founder of Sheboygan’s “I Love My Addict” support group took up the crusade against heroin addiction after helping Trevor to battle his demons. It’s a work in progress.
There were glaring warning signs leading up to Trevor’s downward spiral, and Kelly missed them all – including an addiction to pain pills. “Well here I am a mom in 2005, I have no clue. I’ve had pain pills, but they’ve never made me high or anything. I never thought then that kids were cutting up these pain pills and snorting them,” she says. Add to that, Trevor convinced his mom that he was not addicted to the pain pills, so she believed they were harmless, because she believed in him.
It would take five more years of erratic behavior from Trevor, and missed signs from Kelly and her husband, before the extent of the problem came crashing down on the family, all at once.
Kelly says that in 2010, her son came to her with a desperate plea for help.
“He said, Mom… I think I need help."
“I said, what’s the matter?”
“He said, I’m addicted to heroin, and I don’t know what to do.”
Kemps says her first response was to take Trevor to the emergency room, but that was a short term fix. She then began to look for support groups, but had no luck finding many in the area.
The only available options at the time, she says, were expensive drug treatment facilities, which the family could ill-afford. That’s what prompted a heartfelt conversation between Kelly and her husband. She recalls, “I just looked at him and asked; well, do we invest in his funeral, or do we invest in treatment? - And my husband said, Treatment of course!”
Kelly says that in the beginning, the process of saving Trevor was grueling for the whole family at times – from dealing with his close calls with death to the lack of support groups or drug treatment facilities that were available to “fix” her son.
That’s what prompted her to take more action to save Trevor.
“I opened the first support group on my own, (with advice from the United Way) in May of last year. I’ve got several members that come regularly, and they are so grateful for this place…so very grateful,” Kemps says.
For Kelly, saving her son from the teeth of heroin addiction is an ongoing battle. He has had occasional setbacks. But, right now he’s a few months clean again.
“I Love My Addict” is getting ready to launch a major initiative next month to bring awareness to the growing problem of heroin addiction in the Sheboygan area.
State and local organizations that share in the cause will converge on Fountain Park, August 29th from 3pm till 7pm.
They are hoping to educate the community on the problem, and rescue more families from Heroin’s devastating grip.
– “And I am not gonna stand by anymore and let this happen to other mothers they deserve better than this,” Kemps says.
Read more about the “I Love My Addict” support group, and upcoming events here.
