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Kathy
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« on: May 20, 2010, 04:36:54 PM » |
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CBS 2 Seen At 11: Friends Don't Let Friends Die
Popular Teens In Our Area Have Been Killed Because Of Drugs -- And Because Nobody Lifted Finger To HelpReporting Chris Wragge NEW YORK (CBS) ?  Natalie Ciappa, 18,
was found dead in her friend's
house after overdosing on heroin.Imagine a teenager in a life-threatening medical emergency -- dying -- surrounded by friends. Yet no one does anything to help.
It's happening all too often among young people abusing alcohol and drugs with friends too afraid to call for help. Those who have suffered the tragedy first hand are now sounding the alarm: friends don't let friends die.
"It breaks my heart that if just one of them came forward, she could be here," Doreen Ciappa said.
Natalie Ciappa lived her life surrounded by friends, but her parents said the 18-year-old died because none of those friends helped her.
"There's no way to close the door on this. It's always with you," Victor Ciappa said.
Two years after Ciappa didn't come home from a party, her parents went looking for her. They found her body sprawled on a couch in a Seaford, Long Island garage. She had overdosed on heroin.
"I screamed like a little girl," Victor Ciappa said.
The 19-year-old host of the party was still there, cleaning up beer bottles. The Ciappas said he barely noticed her lifeless body.
"He was cleaning up. He actually stepped over her head with a with a huge garbage bag," Doreen Ciappa said.
According to a police report, as many as 20 teens had been at the party. The Ciappas said some of them knew their daughter was in trouble.
"These kids left the party and left the friend they loved alone at the party," Doreen Ciappa said.
"She could've been saved if somebody had called," Victor Ciappa said.
It's a tragedy repeated across the country -- teens dying because friends don't call for help. Now grieving parents want to change that.
"Our goal is to stop that and to educate preteens, teenagers, young adults, even parents, on the importance of picking up a phone," Pat McCarthy said.
"I think it's a great message," Doreen Ciappa added.
Pat and Lisa McCarthy started "Friends Don't Let Friends Die" to raise awareness, letting kids know being a friend means calling for help when a friend is in trouble.
"They could've called me," Lisa McCarthy said.
The McCarthy's 16-year-old daughter died, surrounded by friends, after taking ecstasy.
"We just couldn't understand. We were wondering how could she have died? And the first thing that came out of my mouth was, 'friends don't let friends die,'" Pat McCarthy said.
At Stony Brook University on Long Island, students are getting hands-on training so they can help a friend in need, everything from CPR to learning the right time to call 9-1-1.
Lara Hunter, who runs the program, said its clear what holds kids back.
"The fear of getting in trouble, getting their friend in trouble, having their friend upset with them," Hunter said.
Terri Griffith took the training.
"I've been at parties when I've definitely seen people pass out, when I've done nothing, when I've gone along to the party, had fun, went home and did nothing," Griffith said.
They started the program after the death of 19-year-old Matthew Sunshine. He died from alcohol poisoning after a night of drinking with classmates while away at school. No one called 9-1-1.
His mother, a Stony Brook professor, hopes to find meaning in his death.
"His death was avoidable. His death was preventable. That's how I'd like him remembered -- as a kid whose death resulted in a change in campus culture such that students start watching out for one another," Dr. Suzanne Fields said.
It's the same message the Ciappas are spreading to younger teens at high schools around Long Island, talking not only about their loss but also the consequences for the friends who do nothing.
"We just saw it from Natalie's friends, how it destroyed them," Doreen Ciappa said.
"That's a heavy burden to bear once your friend is buried. You realize you were there and you could've made a difference if you just dialed 9-1-1," Victor Ciappa said. "You say you are a friend, be a friend. Look out for your friend."http://wcbstv.com/topstories/friends.dont.let.2.1704481.html
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