Wrong Time at the Wrong Place –
DECEMBER 30, 2019 – When Thomas McCue moved into a “sober home” in St. Paul in 2017, his parents felt hopeful that he was finally getting his life back on track after years of substance abuse and depression. The 23-year-old had just completed intensive residential treatment and was preparing to return to college to study art and business. Staff at the sober home promised to help McCue with a supportive and “highly structured” environment that would be drug-free, his parents said.
Five months later, McCue died of a fatal injection of heroin that was delivered to the front porch of the house on St. Clair Avenue. His body wasn’t found until hours later because no staff or other residents were present. “This home broke every single promise they made,” said his mother, Vasiliki Canotas, who lives in Manchester, N.H.
The young man’s death — which is now the subject of a lawsuit — has deepened long-running concerns about the safety and reliability of sober homes, which have grown in numbers in the past decade in response to the opioid epidemic.
