In 2014, Anita Davis started the Zachary Davis Memorial Foundation in memory of her son.
SUGARCREEK From all outward appearances, Zachary Davis led a charmed life.
The oldest of three brothers, he was handsome and adventurous; talented in skiing, art and music. He was part of an extended, close-knit and successful family. His maternal grandfather is founder of the Breitenbach Winery in Tuscarawas County, the largest in the state.
It wasn't enough to protect him from the grip of addiction.
No amount of rehab and therapy could break it.
Years before anyone was talking openly about addiction, Zachary's mother, Anita, was doing all she could to save him. From juvenile detention to navigating insurance red tape to get him into five rehab programs in three years, it is another tale of heroin's power and the destruction it leaves in its wake.
"Up until 2005, my family and I did all we could to help him," Anita Davis said. "We sent him to rehabs all across the country; we spent thousands of dollars. It didn't work ... once somebody become an addict, they struggle every day. A week before he died, he told me, 'If there was one thing I could go back and do, it would be to tell every young person not to do drugs.'"
Anita Davis found her son's body on Nov. 12, 2005.
"It was devastating," she said. "I talked to a friend who suggested that I tell my story. I was embarrassed, ashamed. I thought I did something wrong. I carried a lot of guilt."
In 2014, Anita Davis started the Zachary Davis Memorial Foundation. The foundation awards program grants and scholarships to students pursuing studies in social work and clinical counseling.
The foundation's most recent fundraiser, the Dandelion May Run, netted $12,000. It also helps to fund Pathway to Wellness, a five-bed, sober-living house for men in Tuscarawas County.
"We've had a good success rate," Davis said adding that rehab services need to extend far beyond 30 to 90 days. It takes at least a year for an addict's brain to recuperate from the damage done by addiction.
"There's always a gateway"
Since 2006, Davis has visited 10 school districts, where she has presented her son's story to thousands.
Davis credits clinical counseling with helping her and her family. Her two younger sons, now adults, also visit schools to talk about addiction. Neither has used drugs.
Part of Davis' school presentation includes a video featuring others sharing their struggles with drug addiction. In 2013, one of those featured, relapsed and died, she said.
In Zachary's case, she said, she noticed a shift in his behavior in his early teens, shortly after she remarried and had a second child. He began associating with a different group of friends who experimented with marijuana.
"It was a gateway drug for him," she said. "I don't know if it was genetics or if he was just trying to fit in. There's always a gateway."
The misbehavior escalated to stealing. Zachary and a friend were arrested for taking a car and driving it to Arkansas, resulting in his being sent to a camp in Montana.
Zachary's substance abuse, Davis said, escalated to pills, huffing computer cleaner and drinking cough syrup.
After high school, Zachary was accepted into the Pittsburgh College of Art and Design, where he was doing well. But injuries from a car accident resulted in his receiving prescription pain medication. It led to heroin.
After his death, Davis extended an invitation to area families to her home to discuss the issue and was stunned by the response.
Not enough chairs
"I didn't have enough chairs," she said. "It was overflowing with people. I started a support group for families. Addiction is a family problem. You can't find anybody who doesn't know somebody who isn't struggling with addiction."
The meeting has since evolved into a Naranon support group. Davis said that in 2005, she felt like she was the only parent whose child had a problem.
"I wish I would have had a support group to go to at the time he was using," she said.
According to a 2017 report published by the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the rate of drug abuse in rural areas began eclipsing urban areas in 2006. The report found that the rural rate of 17 addicted people per 100,000, eclipsed the urban rate of 16.2, in 2015.
Poverty, unemployment and a lack of access to treatment programs in rural areas are factors contributing to the problem. The recent expansion of Medicaid in some states may eventually alleviate some of the inequities, but expansion is always at risk of future budget cuts.
Davis advises parents to educate themselves about drugs.
"A lot of parents are not paying attention to what their kids are doing and who their friends are," she said. "If spoons are missing, that's a sign. Sometimes, it's just looking at your child and (gauging) their mood. I would advise that they go to a good counselor who specializes in addiction."
She added that parents also should directly address their children about possible drug use.
"Chances are they're gonna lie about it," she said. "Tough love is so hard. I can't say I mastered that," she said. "We have an extended family. Zach knew who to go to get what he needed."
Davis said no family is immune to the dangers of drug addiction.
"Zach was a good kid," she said through tears. "He went to church. He was a Boy Scout. He played baseball. He loved life. He had plans. A lot of times when I speak to group, I feel like there's that stigma out there. I still think so many people think, 'Not my kid.' But it does. It can happen so fast."
To learn more visit www.zachsstory.org or email Davis at: amishwine01@gmail.com
Reach Charita at 330-580-8313 or charita.goshay@cantonrep.com
On Twitter: @cgoshayREP