How did Paterson become a magnet for the heroin trade? A perfect economic and demographic storm. Industry left. People lost jobs. Abandoned homes. A quarter of the police force was cut. Into the vacuum of 1,200 abandoned buildings moved looters and dealers and people shooting up or finding shelter. The extraordinary reporting for the series “In Heroin’s Grip” was done by Photojournalists Tyson Trish and Tom Franklin, photographer and videographer from The Record, along with reporter Rebbeca O’Brien. Trish and Franklin spoke with NJTV News Anchor Mary Alice Williams about their experience working on the series in Paterson.
“I think that everybody we came across just had some devastating stories. They found themselves on the streets of Paterson from twists and turns in life that are unimaginable,” said Trish.
“I met people who were really very close to rock bottom,” said Franklin. “One young man was living at a cement pipe next to the railroad tracks and really trying to make sense of the addiction that he found himself in. Didn’t really have a way out. There are many young people from suburban towns outside of Paterson who become addicted and they find themselves homeless and in a really tough area.”
While working on the series, Trish said that people they spoke with wanted to be able to share their stories. He said that they felt like they could do some good telling their perspective.
Franklin said that many factors are at play that make Paterson a hub of the heroin trade in New Jersey. He said that there are several abandoned properties throughout the city and that people go into the abandoned properties to buy and sell drugs. He also said that many people from outside of Paterson, from suburban towns, go into the city to buy heroin.
“It’s an open air drug market and they can get in and out of the city pretty quickly. So there’s a lot of factors that point towards Paterson,” said Franklin.
Trish said that drugs and heroin have become an epidemic.
“I think just seeing all the people on the street that are involved with this, it’s definitely an epidemic,” said Trish. “The people who have died of overdoses, the people who have been killed. It’s there, it’s real.”
Franklin hopes that people will become aware of the heroin epidemic and how real the heroin problem is.
“The heroin problem is real and if you think that you can’t be caught up in this or someone in your family can’t be caught up in this, you’re kidding yourself,” said Franklin. “Every town, it’s not just a Paterson problem, it’s an everywhere problem and awareness and education is key.”