Life and Loss on Methadone Mile

In a beleaguered section of Boston, the opioid epidemic ravaging Massachusetts and much of America is plain to see. On “Methadone Mile,” drug deals are conducted on busy street corners. Users sway near passing traffic, so consumed by their addiction

Shaun "BoneZ" LeBlanc(R) watches as his friend Chris shoots heroin behind a house. After a night in the shelter both were feeling the symptoms of withdrawal from heroin usage. Before entering the shelter  users have to discard or hide their dru

A man who calls himself Bodie stands along a stretch of Massachusetts Avenue known as "Methadone Mile" after getting high on synthetic marijuana cigarettes. Many people struggle to sleep at night and shuffle from corner to corner to pass the time in

“Gotta go, gotta go,” says the police officers who show up every hour or so to sweep away suspected drug users in front of the Cumberland Farms store.  Police officers often search backpacks with the most common charge being possession or distr

Heroin addict Shirley Coffey panhandles along a stretch of Massachusetts Avenue known as "Methadone Mile.” Members of the community take turns walking along the row of cars to ask for money, usually only for as long as it takes to raise enough funds

People wrapped in blankets  sleep along Melnea Cass Boulevard, on "Methadone Mile.” Sleeping here is dangerous: Thieves snatch bags and rifle through pockets. Some people bed down together on patches of grass, sharing the space for warmth and k

Leonardo Parente wears a Batman mask as he walks along a stretch of Massachusetts Avenue. "I want to be able to kick this and eventually work here. I'm not asking for a free check, I'm not asking for SSI or any of that.  I'm asking for a job an

“I love heroin. I live it. The first time I ever did it I fell in love with it,” says Shaun "BoneZ" LeBlanc as he holds a needle in his teeth before shooting up heroin on “The Mile.” “But you hate it,” he adds.  “You want to kill it. But you ca

Andrew Mell, feverish from heroin withdrawal, cools his head off in the sink  at the home of his mother. “I’m ready for this to be over.”, Mell said, but like many of the other men and women who parachute in from the suburbs, Andrew can leave t

Craig Bohannon, a 61-year-old husk of a man missing most of his teeth, says he had been out panhandling on Methadone Mile for nearly 20 years. He spends his nights shuffling through traffic, leaning on his cane with his cup outstretched.

A homeless man holds his prosthetic leg in his wheel chair in front of a Cumberland Farms. Despite an occasional sense of community on “The Mile",  there is little trust between addicts who often find them selves clutching on to what little the

Diane closes her eyes after talking about the numerous times she has been beaten on “Methadone Mile.” She claims that women are particularly vulnerable to violence and abuse on “The Mile."

Andrew Mell sits with his girlfriend Briana Kapinos after getting high on marijuana at Ames Nowell State Park in Abington, MA. The two have struggled with alcohol and drug addiction for several years and are trying to stay sober. They spent several

Terrance Moore, who calls himself Delicious, cries in front of the Cumberland Farms store on "Methadone Mile" as he talks about the years living on the streets in Boston. “All I could ask for was to be loved, and I could never get it.” In a year or

Boston Police officers chase an alleged drug dealer after he ran while being questioned in front of the Cumberland Farms store. Police are trying. Over 200 people were arrested in the last nine-month period ending in June. Many need help, police and

Barbara Mell looks on in annoyance out a window at her son Andrew Mell, a struggling heroin addict, at the family's home in Abington, MA. He’s been done with heroin a hundred times before, promising himself and his family that he was finally committ

Shaun "BoneZ" LeBlanc hugs his wife Donna Perry goodbye as she gets on the subway for a job interview. While Donna has been sober and in a women's shelter for nearly three months, Shaun still uses daily and lives on the streets as there are no shelt

Kenny Robertson, who has been homeless off and on for years, walks wrapped in a blanket to stave off the chill on “Methadone Mile.” Many hover just above a slumber. White sheets draped across their shoulders, they shuffle under the streetlights like

All Politics News Life and Loss on Methadone Mile Ghosts of Union Carbide Unmasked: The Times Square Batman Portraits Strong Man

Politics News Life and Loss on Methadone Mile Ghosts of Union Carbide Unmasked: The Times Square Batman Portraits Strong Man

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