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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| Father films moment he tells his 8-year-old son that his mother overdosed on heroin | Father films moment he tells his 8-year-old son that his mother overdosed on heroin |
| (about 17 hours later) | |
| Brenden Bickerstaff-Clark, a father from Youngstown, Ohio, shared a video on Monday that’s been viewed more than 24 million times on Facebook. In the footage, Mr Bickerstaff-Clark tells his 8-year-old son, Cameron, that his mother recently died of a heroin overdose. | Brenden Bickerstaff-Clark, a father from Youngstown, Ohio, shared a video on Monday that’s been viewed more than 24 million times on Facebook. In the footage, Mr Bickerstaff-Clark tells his 8-year-old son, Cameron, that his mother recently died of a heroin overdose. |
| Mr Bickerstaff-Clark is a recovering addict and wanted to show others the damaging impact drugs can have on families. | Mr Bickerstaff-Clark is a recovering addict and wanted to show others the damaging impact drugs can have on families. |
| “Please get help so our children don’t have to suffer,” he wrote in the Facebook caption. “This wasn’t staged. This was real. I had someone record this so addicts with children can see the seriousness of our epidemic. I am a recovering addict myself with 94 days clean today. Please share and maybe help save a child’s parents life.” | “Please get help so our children don’t have to suffer,” he wrote in the Facebook caption. “This wasn’t staged. This was real. I had someone record this so addicts with children can see the seriousness of our epidemic. I am a recovering addict myself with 94 days clean today. Please share and maybe help save a child’s parents life.” |
| According to statistics from the Ohio Department of Health, heroin has accounted for 1,424 unintentional overdoses in the Buckeye State, adding to the record-high 3,050 overdoses last year. | According to statistics from the Ohio Department of Health, heroin has accounted for 1,424 unintentional overdoses in the Buckeye State, adding to the record-high 3,050 overdoses last year. |
| Tonya Tutoki, a Niles resident, addressed criticism of the video in the video’s comment section. | Tonya Tutoki, a Niles resident, addressed criticism of the video in the video’s comment section. |
| “I know you might be tired of people posting to your wall, but I just want to point out how many people saw the video and added their input,” she wrote on Facebook. | “I know you might be tired of people posting to your wall, but I just want to point out how many people saw the video and added their input,” she wrote on Facebook. |
| “You and your son are in many people's prayers and you truly got the message out that it has an effect on others, tremendously. Many people are [close-minded] and they say it's because they have no sympathy because that person chose to do it. Well, an addict is someone's child, mother, significant other, and so on. I hope that those viewers, shares, comments, likes, and reactions were lives being touched. You and your son are definitely in my prayers!” | “You and your son are in many people's prayers and you truly got the message out that it has an effect on others, tremendously. Many people are [close-minded] and they say it's because they have no sympathy because that person chose to do it. Well, an addict is someone's child, mother, significant other, and so on. I hope that those viewers, shares, comments, likes, and reactions were lives being touched. You and your son are definitely in my prayers!” |
| Dr Joseph Ohr, a forensic pathologist in Mahoning County, recently told The Vindicator, a newspaper in Youngstown, that 22 deaths in the area have been linked to heroin since August. | Dr Joseph Ohr, a forensic pathologist in Mahoning County, recently told The Vindicator, a newspaper in Youngstown, that 22 deaths in the area have been linked to heroin since August. |