Voices
from the
Front
Lines
The Netflix documentary “Heroin(e)” follows the efforts of three extraordinary
West Virginia women—Jan Rader, Patricia Keller and Necia Freeman—
as they work to fight the opioid epidemic in Huntington, WV.
SAMANTHA CART
“What is so powerful about this
heroin?”
“The only way I know to explain it to
you is getting high on heroin is what it
would be like for you to kiss Jesus. That’s
how powerful it is.”
These words, taken from the 2017
Netflix documentary “Heroin(e),” are
defining for the drug epidemic that has
gripped the nation for the past five years.
According to the National Center for
Health Statistics, there were more than
60
WEST VIRGINIA EXECUTIVE
63,600 drug overdose deaths in the
U.S. in 2016—a 21 percent increase from
2015. That year, West Virginia led the
nation once again with a rate of over-
dose 162 percent higher than the na-
tional average.
This crisis has taken a particular hold
on Cabell County, where more than 1,800
people overdosed on drugs in 2017 alone,
resulting in 132 deaths. In a county of
only 96,000 people, the numbers are
staggering.
On September 12, 2017, Elaine McMil-
lion Sheldon’s documentary, “Heroin(e),”
made its debut on Netflix. The film
follows the daily lives of three women—
Huntington Fire Chief Jan Rader, Cabell
County Judge Patricia Keller and Realtor
Necia Freeman.
The documentary has been met with
praise as a raw look into a debilitating
epidemic the nation seems no closer to
solving. Rader, Keller and Freeman are
part of an intricate and unique team of
first responders, medical professionals,
legal professionals, public servants, faith-
based organizations and ordinary citi-
zens in Huntington that is working every
day to help combat and treat opioid ad-
diction in their hometown.