Documentary puts viewers in shoes of suburban drug users

The opening images of Ethan Deardorff's documentary are serene: a moonlit sky, nice houses bordering an open field - typical suburbia.

But viewers quickly learn why the 20-year-old Vernon Hills resident named his first short film “Lake County, Illinois: Subversive Suburbia.” As the images continue, a female voice matter-of-factly tells her story.

“My friend overdosed at my house in October on little green pills - what are they called, starts with a 'K' - Klonopin,” says the twenty-something woman. The friend had to be taken to the emergency room.

“She took 10, I took seven. I passed out in my bed and everyone was screaming at me, asking what she took,” she continued. “I couldn't answer. I couldn't, like, talk.”

That is one glimpse of the suburban drug scene captured by Deardorff, who at the start of the 15-minute documentary offers the disclaimer that he doesn't condone and is not affiliated with the behavior.

“I'm just trying to spread awareness. That's the end game,” he said.

Mundelein Police Chief Eric Guenther applauded the effort, but he said he wished it would have suggested some resources for those who may need them. Guenther is co-founder of A Way Out, a test program designed to fast-track users to substance abuse programs and services and keep them out of the criminal justice system.

“It's certainly something that isn't new but is growing in concern as time goes by,” he said of suburban drug use. “Awareness is just one component of a bigger picture.”

The documentary was an assignment for a College of Lake County video editing class. Deardorff said he wanted to “get away from the official side of things with the police and lawyers” and put viewers in the shoes of young people who deal with drugs on a daily basis.

“Yeah, the newspapers report on it, but we really don't talk about it socially,” he said. “They (general public) just are sad about a person who died and keep going.”

Deardorff said he has been sober for three years but contacted former associates specifically for this story and was able to persuade some random subjects to participate. The speakers are anonymous and some of their faces are blurred.

He put his project on YouTube, where it steadily has been gaining attention.

“I took the extra step on my own. I thought sharing it in a closed classroom wasn't enough,” he said.

The familiar message is that sad realities involving drugs lurk beneath the facade of suburban life. That caught the attention of Libertyville resident Joe Sweeney, who said he was familiar with some of the people in the documentary and was prompted to share the video.

“Wake Up Mayberry ... this your backyard Libertyville ...,” he posted on his Facebook page. He said the stories of drug use struck him, particularly that of one kid who had been a three-star athlete in high school.

“You see it on TV and here it is on our Main Street,” Sweeney said. “We know these kids. How did this happen?”

Deardorff said the documentary is dedicated to Danielle Pfeiffer, a friend's girlfriend he met at a 12-step program.

“We really clicked. She got sober but had a difficult time,” he said. She eventually killed herself.

One comment on Sweeney's Facebook post was from a woman who said her son was in the video. She said her son is 15 months clean from heroin but has been battling addiction since he was 12. More than a dozen of his friends have died from overdoses, she said.

Elsewhere in Lake County, multipronged efforts continue to address the problem.

A Beach Park woman who participated in Mundelein's A Way Out program is one of three people profiled in the HBO documentary “Warning: This Drug May Kill You,” which premiered May 1. At one point, she makes her way to the Mundelein police station, where Guenther and officer Jakob Anderson also are featured.

A Way Out marks one year June 1. It is for those with no options or place to go, Guenther said, and has grown to include 11 participating police agencies, including Libertyville's. About 10 to 12 people use the program each month.

“We reached out to the user population because they know how best to reach people who need help,” he said.

The Lake County Opioid Initiative and Nicasa also are part of efforts to help those in need, Guenther said. He gave Deardorff credit for raising awareness.

“We know this issue knows no demographic or geographic boundary,” he said.

One young man featured in Deardorff's documentary said drugs offer an escape.

“If you're any bit different at all or feel any sort of private pain that you feel you can't communicate, drugs are just so easy to fix that with,” the man said.

“For a while,” he continued. “And (for) some people, forever.”