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. 

Full Story @StarTribune