A Growing Epidemic

Halfway through her scheduled stay in rehab, Chantel was asked to stay for an additional 30 days. At first, she resisted, but Chantel came to realize she needed more time and asked to stay for an extra three months. "In some ways, I'm scared to leave. Just going back to my hometown is going to be like a huge trigger for me to want to use."

After a total of 122 days in treatment, Chantel left for home. After six weeks, Chantel and her family were starting to feel the pressures of her habit. "Being in rehab, I thought I'd come home and everything would be good. Nothing bad would happen to me anymore."

It certainly has been far from easy. Penni, Chantel's mother, describes the days after Chantel's return as being "very much like a roller coaster."

Chantel felt torn between doing what she needs to do to stay clean and drifting back to her old crowd—all of whom "are into meth or have done meth," she says.

At one point, Chantel did meet up with old friends, prompting her stepfather to kick her out of the house. Chantel then sent messages to Penni, saying that if she suffered a relapse, she would blame her for pushing her to it.