My once beautiful daughter Cassie
had everything going for her.
Now her life is basically hanging by a thread.
Just go away you guys, seriously.
I would like to have a sober sister.
She was a good student, great, got straight A's.
My sister played volleyball, basketball,
she was kind of like this All American girl.
When Cassie was in high school,
her grades were good and she just started
hanging around the wrong crowd.
I had no idea what was going on behind my back.
She quickly got a reputation as a drug user.
When Cassie, my daughter, was 17 years old,
I found a heroine needle in her room.
I remember my mom finding heroine needles everywhere:
in my sister's purses, in the bathroom,
it was kind of a matter of where are we gonna find one?
The last 10 years, her life has just spiraled
more and more out of control.
I believe you're abusing your prescribed Daytrana.
But I'm not abusing them, like that's the thing,
it's like nothing.
This isn't just alcohol.
You're killing yourself.
She has done heroine, crack, speed, ecstasy.
For the past 10 years, she's either been
high on drugs or drunk.
I honestly cannot remember a time
that my sister has been sober.
There's no point to even having this conversation
because she doesn't know what's going on.
Cassie has been to rehab on three different occasions.
I have given her ultimatums,
I've kicked her out, I've cut her off.
Cassie, she's been living on the streets,
at this point I think Cassie's addiction
not only controls her life,
but it's controlling my life.
She lives at home with me.
At this point, I take care of her,
I pay for her food, her clothes, her cell phone.
My mom completely enables my sister.
I mean, 100% she enables her.
So do you!
You (mumbles) took me to Charlies,
bought me a bottle of vodka after detox.
I've never bought you a bottle of vodka.
I would rather enable her than have her
living on the street.
I'm just trying to keep her alive.
I feel like my mom just needs to cut my sister off.
She's destroying her, and I'm just done.
I've never felt this way in my entire life.
I cannot explain it.
I feel like a (beep) psychopath.
Okay, I wanna just jump right in here, okay?
I wanna be very laser focused on this
'cause we have a lot to talk about.
I'm curious if you think you're part of the problem here,
or you think you're part of the solution.
You, personally.
Not you, you.
I think I might be part of the problem.
I don't think I'm completely the problem.
I think I do enable her.
You're not completely the problem.
She makes her choices,
she chooses to put drugs in her veins,
swallow them, drink alcohol, whatever she does,
that's her choice.
I'm asking, do you think you're part of the problem?
Part of enabling her maybe.
What do you call enabling?
Giving money for drugs, taking her to get drugs,
taking her to get alcohol.
Well, that's the definition that I use
is to make something possible, practical, or easy
for someone to do.
It often perpetuates the problem.
As you say, she makes it possible by giving her
the essentials for her to do the lifestyle.
And you do that so you know that she's alive.
Yes, I mean, yes, the phone,
it just bothers me knowing she's on the streets.
She's had numerous times where she'll call home,
"Mom, I'm lost." Or "I just got beat up."
so I give her a phone so I'm able to--
She doesn't really do that though.
She doesn't call you telling you she's lost.
No, of course not.
She doesn't reach out to you--
For my peace of mind, helps me to know where she is,
that she's okay, and I can see to contact her once a day,
I wanted to hear her voice, that she wasn't dead.
Okay, well that's what I'm trying to figure out.
So can we agree that you're paying certain things for her,
you're doing certain things for her
that aren't in her best interest,
but they make you feel better?
Yes.