Intervention Episode 24: Gina & Andrea

According to her friends and family, Gina, 26, of Las Vegas, NV is a bright, fun-loving, ambitious woman. Until September of 2005, Gina was earning top dollar and top honors at a leading car dealership in the area. Despite her ability to project success and earn the trust of others, Gina has little confidence in her own worth. She is rapidly losing a difficult battle with crystal methamphetamine and compulsive gambling- she has few assets remaining. Over the past three months, Gina has lost her home and income and compromised her relationship with her family. She is now forced to rely on the charity of friends and drug dealers- using every day, as much as she can find, spending what little money she can borrow or steal on crystal and slot machines. As a senior in high school, Andrea was chosen to participate in a prestigious university's Journalism project. She went on to college with aspirations of becoming a journalist. However, before she earned her degree, she dropped out of college, a decision she still regrets. Now ten years later, Andrea is a 30-year-old, divorced, single mother addicted to alcohol, cocaine and marijuana. She says that she loves the party lifestyle and that "the party doesn't start till I get there." She says she can't end the cycle of drinking and drugs in which she's immersed herself. All she wants is "peace. And I don't know if I'm ever going to get it. I don't know how to live any other way."