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Former Heroin Addict Helps Users Get Treatment

NPR

Published June 1, 2016 at 1:11 PM EDT

At one time, Thea Oliphant-Wells was a client at the needle exchange program. Today, she's a social worker connecting people to services they need to find their way out of addiction.
(KUOW photo/Ruby de Luna) — At one time, Thea Oliphant-Wells was a client at the needle exchange program. Today, she's a social worker connecting people to services they need to find their way out of addiction. (KUOW photo/Ruby de Luna)

For the first time in a decade, the U.S. death rate is up across the entire population. Researchers at the National Center for Health Statistics say the increase was driven in part by more people dying from drug overdoses.

One Seattle woman could have been among that statistic. She was homeless and addicted to heroin. Today, she’s no longer using, but helps those who are. From Here & Now contributor KUOW in Seattle, Ruby de Luna reports.

Read Ruby de Luna’s full piece via KUOW.

Reporter

Ruby de Luna, reporter for KUOW in Seattle. She tweets @kuowruby.