Mary Meehan and David Stephenson were aware of many things that were going on in Dawn Nicole Smith’s life as they followed her through Drug Court. But not everything.
Not the incest. Not the continuing drug use.
There were long periods of time when Dawn was unavailable to them. She never told them she was still using drugs and getting around the drug tests. Nor did they know that her stepfather was paying her – sometimes with money, sometimes with drugs – for sex. Not until she reported it to police.
Drug court case workers didn’t know either.
If anything, Dawn’s story shows how even someone who is given every opportunity and who says she wants to get off drugs may still fail.
If someone were to sail through drug court, fulfilling all the requirements without complications, they could be out within 18 months. David and Mary were looking in on Dawn’s life for more than 3 1/2 years – through the birth of two children, allegations of abuse, and incest.
It was not easy for them to watch her self-destruct. They worried about her. They worried about her children. But their job was simply to tell her story.
Dawn never asked for anything from them.
Now, Dawn has lost her children, her home, virtually everything that has meaning in her life. Her story shows the absolutely unyielding nature of the drug problem our society faces. This story may make you feel that you want to turn away — or throw up your hands at the seeming hopelessness of ever making headway on the problem.
As you read it, Dawn’s story may seem extraordinary in its heartbreaking reality.
Sadly, it is not.
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