>> something has to change. i don't want any more kids to die. >> they found him in a park a short distance from here. >> we had great insurance and yet we were turned away. >> every day i'm sober shows i can do anything without picking up a drink or a drug. >> i want to say keep fighting if you're battling addiction. >> he was in florida, went out

to get food with friends and never came back. >> recovery is possible and keep hope. >> tell somebody, come forth, it's not anything to be ashamed of. >> chris christie, kids are dying. >> hope keeps us alive. we cannot continue to lose our kids. rob: -- chasing the euphoria when they first got high. the heroin epidemic seems out of control spike since 2010, the number of people addicted and suffering. in new jersey, it's particularly troubliling as the deaths are three times the national average. >> this is what you see in the headlines, but this is reality. >> we're bringing you tonight a very special edition of "chasing news". we're chasing the out-of-control heroin and opioid addiction crisis in america and the families and the people that it impacts every day. >> the stories and the subject matter may make you

uncomfortable. they're not easy to digest. but you can't simply look the other way anymore, addiction is everywhere you turn. i sat in the living rooms, seen the tears, seen the pain on loved ones' faces. >> i breathe so hard, as hard as i could to make him breathe. i couldn't. >> i'd like to introduce to you t.j. walsh, when we first brought t.j. to you, he was homeless, heroin addicted and begging for money it feed his addiction. >> we're on a journey today to save one life if we can, not going to be easy but assembled the team. the first with us is great friend of the show, jay lasater.. >> i hope today is the day for t.j., i hope we can get in

there and make magic and convince him this is the right thing to do, but, like, he's -- we're never rational. if he's got a lot of heroin on him, he's probably not going to come. >> right. we're going to meet christie walsh, going to meet her mother who hasn't spoken to her son in a few years.. >> today, family in here, they lost their son, brother, nephew, just down the street under the ben franklin bridge. homeless, college graduate,

great kid. >> i can relate. we're going to go save him. >> when did you guys first see a change in your brother? >> a change? a long time ago. i would say right after he graduated college, actually. a little more distant and isolated. from there, up until this point, he's very smart. >> what did he start using? when did he start using? how fast did that get out of hand? >> i couldn't tell you how fast because he kept it secret very, very well. there were a lot of lies, it was pills, percoset. it was oxy, and when he was arrested in my kitchen in june of 2015, the officers let me know it's heroin. >> wow. >> and i was floored. i had not a clue.

>> i'm kind of thinking that the approach might be the present. i think four of us should try to track him down,ing and the sight of the family members that he hasn't seen in quite a long time will spark some emotion. >> this is where t.j. would spend a lot of his time panhandling over there. people at the ben franklin bridge. we've got the whole team. we're going to security area. >> around here? >> yeah. >> t.j. used to sleep here is what this fella told us. he recognized him. as far as he knows, he's sleeping where the tow trucks are. [laughter]

>> how are you? >> a good way, in a good way. >> i'm so sorry. >> i locked up because i miss aid court date. >> i can't believe i just ran into you. [laughter] . >> how many days clean? >> today is seven. >> congratulations, man. when is the last day you had seven days clean? >> been a long time. >> that's great. >> really long. >> what are you doing right now? want food? want to eat? all right, awesome, dude. >> no, no, definitely not..

>> you know, in the past, substance abuse has been a big part of your life, and you know, life may not have worked out the way everyone thought, and i work for a company called ambrosia treatment centers, it's a really amazing program, and what we're looking to do is offer you a full scholarship to go our program for full 30 days, free of charge, and want to set you up with housing after that and continued treatment and obviously we're going to offer support of your family. >> when can i leave? >> right now. >> right now? >> right now. >> before you guys pulled in. i was talking to bill for the last 20 minutes and i said i can't believe that my family

hasn't come, like, i said i know what this is, i don't want them to see me until i shave. >> i like to see you just like this. >> i know it's my family. i hope that's what it is. he's like what are you going do? i'm like dude, i'm [ bleep ] going, i'm done with this. i can't do it. when i heard you guys were out looking for me, it kind of scared me. deep down inside, i knew it was a godsend, i knew what it was, and i knew they would accept whatever you were offering. i need to get clean.. >> how are you doing? >> good. happy. .

>> so the big question is, how is he doing now. >> i've been in close contact with t.j.'s family. he's out of rehab. he hasn't been himself for a couple years, he's trying to find himself and working on it on his own. >> not everybody has a van to track him down in the streets. is there hope among the people and the families? >> that's the interesting thing. when i was looking for t.j., i spoke to people who were

heroin addicted and a lot said man, i wish they were looking for me. it made the journey a little stronger with his family and i. as for the other families, a lot of them have experienced loss already, lost the loved one that they had. they all wanted to do things differently, but not much that you can do. >> yeah, i mean, we did everything. came down to him. there's nothing we could have done differently. >> it's an everyday battle. everyday battle. >> this is -- he was placed in a sober living house. >> we made the blessing bags. >> how long you been in? >> three weeks. >> how do you like it? >> love it, man, i love it. .

>> this family sitting in the living room taught me everything i needed to know about heroin. steven lost his life after he overdosed in his mother's home. he did not get to witness the birth of his son who is now named steven, in his honor. the past few years have been tough on the family. bill and tammy's son, steven was struggling heavily with heroin. a good man with demons pumping through his veins. steven was living with his parents to get better for his girlfriend elizabeth and two beautiful daughters. his girlfriend is pregnant with the third child. he was getting better but things took a tragic turn. the whole family planned to go out for easter egg hunt. >> i thought he had a tissue

in his nose. it was white foam. i said come on, babe, we got to go, we'll miss the easter egg hunt. i said bill, i think he's dead. my husband and i pulled him to the floor. i breathed so hard to make him breathe. i couldn't. i wanted to but i couldn't have it. i didn't have what it took to bring my son. reporter: steven was dead from heroin overdose. elizabeth herself has struggled with addiction but since came clean. >> it's an everyday battle, every day battle, thank god i'm in a program today because i don't know where i'd be today. i'm sober and here for my family today. reporter: donny conklin is steven's cousin but more like a brother. his father died from a heroin overdose 22 years ago. he's struggling with heroin addiction, too. after steven died, he stopped and looking for help. >> this opened my eyes, i

would have never got clean. like i've tried, like i wanted to, and i've been doing it [ bleep ] to not be sick, you know? like the devil. reporter: one thing that's keeping the family together is they will not let steven's death be in vain. they made it life's mission. >> we want to impact lives, tell steven's story, we want to sit in front of lawmakers, we're here to make a change.. >> he is. >> good to see you, too. this place is beautiful. >> this is sober living house. each bedroom holds two guys, we have one bedroom that does sleep one. everything that you see. guys try to get out as often as they can. all the stuff is donated.

the bags with -- >> we make the blessing bags. >> how long you been in the house for? >> three weeks. almost a month now. >> how are you liking it? >> love it. love it, man. we're all a tight-knit group. we all get along and help each other with each other's recovery. >> look at that. >> perfect. that's perfect. .

>> yeah, i mean, we did everything. it came down to him. there's nothing we could have done differently. >> new jersey boasts about shore towns, many turn a blind eye that ocean county is deadliest county. two counties alone account for over 300 people that have died from heroin overdoses since the beginning of this year. >> i met a family, i'm in their living room right now. that's dealing with the heavy loss of brother and son, 29-year-old christopher cox, whose life spiraled downward until his last day. late october when he died from heroin overdose. his family was left to plan his funeral. ever said good-bye. >> an act of addiction, i learned how to handle it. i tried everything from my own faith to other faiths to tough

love to overlove to -- >> begging. >> begging, pleading. >> christopher and his little brother joseph were inseparable. they broke the law together, went in and out of rehab together. he remains clean and hard working to this very day. >> it's all rush, and chasing that rush, and when you realize, that can you get the same rush out of doing something productive. >> christopher, however, could never escape the dark life of crime and addiction. joseph was raw in talking about their struggles. their connection and the death of his beloved brother who he called his best friend. his mother, two sisters, and his brother, nephew, i read a different story. christopher's brain, his mind, heart and soul, don't let them

deal with the chains that his addiction had on him anymore. >> if you could see him, what would you say right now? . >> it's never going to be the same. you don't go back living a normal life after losing someone that close to you. you learn how to live differently. even when the moments come where you feel like you can't breathe, you manage to make it through the day. we teamed up with stop the heroin, we created an app for them and it's going to be available to everybody soon. so we're trying to get that promoted and let everybody know that there is help. >> i help people get into treatment now, in honor of my son. >> i want to say keep fighting, if you're battling

addiction, you can beat it. >> i'm nine months clean actually today. >> we've got shatter this stigma. hope is the only thing that keeps us alive and cannot continue to lose our kids. >> all i have to say is wake up, chris christie. kids are dying. .

>> he was just out of a detox and was waiting for long-term care. we found him in his bedroom on a tuesday night. he fought addiction for about eight years and relapsed in september, and it was fatal. >> around us, are real people that beat their addiction. real people still in the fight, and real families living with unimaginable loss. every single day. >> i help people get into treatment now, in honor of my son who just turned 20. he passed away from heroin overdose. we had great insurance and still turned away. >> i've been clean since august 22nd, 2014. i want to say keep fighting. if you're battling addiction, you can beat it. >> i'm nine months clean actually today. it's been a great road. >> my name is joe, wake up chris christie, kids are dying. >> he was in a recovery place

in florida and his probation made him come back, and they found him in a park a short distance from here in trenton and he died of overdose. >> my name is zach, what they do is great and there is hope. don't give up. >> we've got to shatter this stigma. hope is the only thing that keeps us alive. and cannot continue to lose our kids. >> he struggled in and out of rehab. >> i've been in recovery since september 8th, 2007. recovery is possible and keep the hope and tell somebody. >> 2 1/2 years clean and in the ocean county drug court program and looking for love and life. this is right before he passed away. come forth, it's not anything to be ashamed up. >> i'm jason rivera, together we help people get their lives straight and recovery. >> my name is shaun, i'm in recovery since september 6,

2016. when i was asked to leave detox due to lack of funding, i overdosed the same day and been in recovery since. >> every day that i'm sober shows me that i can get through everything without picking up a drink or drug. >> there is nothing to be ashamed of being a drug addict. there is hope for you. i'm proof there is. >> he wound up getting four years almost clean. doing wonderfully. he was in florida. he went out to get food at 3:00 in the morning with friends and never came back. 12 hours later, they found him dead in his car. >> i'm one of the lucky ones who had access to good treatment because you had good insurance. to moms and dads and loves ones fighting this fight. >> i struggled with addiction for many years, i've been sober since january 14th, 2011. >> my frustration was not only having to endure the death of my youngest son but the

frustration at trying to get his phone unlocked to get information to bring the dealers to justice. >> my name is megan. >> i've been sober since october 26, 2014 and here to show recovery is possible. >> my son is in recovery nine months today. it's been a tough road but there is always hope. >> my son passed away on january 27th. he was on heroin for five whole months. one of the worst parts about it is i couldn't get him treatment in new jersey because they said he didn't fit the criteria. something has to change. i don't want any more kids to die.

♪ (couch and tv grunting happily) (giggles, gasps) (both laughing playfully) (both panting, sighing) (grunting) (groaning) homer: wow, an indoor water park. hopefully, this will put the final nail in the coffin of lakes and rivers. well, as a mother, i... we all know you're a mother. as a mother, i like that wherever i look, i can see a lifeguard. i'm finding nemo! i saw heaven!