GOWANDA – It was an emotional story that 18-year-old Gowanda High School student Megan Irish shared with the school board Wednesday night: How she became addicted to heroin, and what it took for her to claw her way out of that pit.

Gowanda’s School Resource Officer, Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Deputy John Bennett, introduced Irish. Fresh-faced, blonde and petite, “ex-heroin addict” is the last thing a stranger would expect when meeting the teenaged girl. She wore sweatpants, boots and a pink hoodie, the uniform of any carefree high schooler. She looked like she should be on her way to a movie with friends, or heading to the library for a study date – anything a “typical” teenager would be doing.

But, Irish IS a typical teenager, and that’s the point. Drug addiction doesn’t just prey on the weak, the old, the ugly, the unloved – no. It is just as likely to victimize the smiling Girl Next Door, and that is why Irish and her mother feel so compelled to share their story. Drug addiction, and the havoc it wreaks, is a silent threat that lurks in every community and every neighborhood – urban and rural, large and small, struggling and affluent.

After she was introduced, Irish sat up taller and read from a sheaf of papers:

“I started using IV heroin after my best friend passed away on April 3, 2013. One of my so-called friends hit me with heroin for the first time,” she began. “After it hit me, I was in love. Immediately when I felt the high starting to go away, I was figuring out how to get my next (fix).”

Only a week after her first time using, Irish said, she was up to about five bags of heroin a day, at a cost of $50 to $100. It’s hard for anyone to keep up with an expensive habit like that, but for a teenager especially, the high cost eventually led to other dangerous and risky behavior. She sold her belongings, stole others’ belongings to sell, and worse.

Despite this behavior, which was nothing like “the old Megan,” and what others might have called an obvious addiction, the truth, Irish said, was too hard to accept.

“Even though I would get sick without heroin, I still didn’t admit I was addicted to it. I thought, ‘There’s no way I can be addicted to heroin. Not me. I can stop whenever I want.’ But the truth is, I couldn’t. By this time, I was using about a gram of heroin a day.”

That cost Irish about $150 per 24 hours. That’s over $1,000 a week. But, as difficult as it was for her wallet to keep up with the drug use, it was even harder for Irish’s body.

“I did this for about four to six months,” she said. “Then I overdosed on March 17, 2015. My mom found me face-first on my bed. I was a bluish-gray color and cold to the touch. She immediately flipped me on my back and started giving me CPR. When I finally came back I just remember crying and being screamed at. Then I proceeded to go outside and vomit until I just couldn’t anymore.”

Irish’s mother, Cindy, took her to Lake Shore hospital in Irving. Doctors released Irish after she agreed to go to outpatient therapy, but about two months later, she relapsed. By the time she agreed to commit to rehab about six months later, her family wasn’t sure she’d live to graduate high school.

“They were probably right,” Irish admitted. “I would have most likely died if (I didn’t go to rehab).”

Healing her body, her conscience and her relationships seemed almost impossible to Irish, but she is making progress all the time, and credits her mother as a source of her strength.

“I’m now three months clean, and plan to not look back or go down that horrible path again. Not to mention my use destroyed my relationship with my mom,” she said. “By the end of my use, I just figured I would never get that relationship back. I’m proud to say that today, that relationship is back and I can’t thank (my mother) enough for going through hell and back with me many times and for never leaving my side.”

Both Irish and her mother now share their story every chance they get, in hopes that other families won’t have to suffer like they did. Irish knows that young people are more likely to listen to one of their peers than to an adult, and Cindy wants other parents to know there’s help out there for families who are desperate for answers.

“When I started everything with Megan, I did not know where to turn. I didn’t know who to call or ask anyone for help,” Cindy said.

She wants to change that, and this mother-daughter team is already making a difference. So far, together, Cindy and her daughter have encouraged two of Irish’s peers to go to rehab.

“I really want to save kids and help parents,” Cindy said.

Bennett knows Irish is an inspiration to others.

“I just want to say that I’m super proud of Megan and Cindy both,” he said. “For Irish to be where she is, and as proactive as she is, not just recovered but being proactive and involved in these community meetings (is amazing). She’s been phenomenal. She wants to help.”

Superintendent James Klubek and board members congratulated Irish on her recovery, and thanked her for her willingness to help other at-risk youth, saying that hers is an important voice in the community’s effort to fight the village’s drug epidemic.

Bennett reminded board members that it’s too easy to write off drug addicts as not worthy of help or time. But, he said, like Megan, so many addicts are vulnerable kids who were taken advantage of.

“She’s changing the stigma,” said Bennett of Irish. “It’s the youth, it’s normal kids who fall victim to this.”

Board members discussed how the school can implement more drug awareness programs and workshops, and together with Community Connections and the local law enforcement agencies, have several educational events planned for the spring, which will be announced soon.

Village residents who need help battling drug addiction can contact Community Connections through the Gowanda Police Department by coming to the station or calling 532-1609 for resources and support.