Candlelight Vigil Remembers Boys' Deaths in Susanville, California

Susanville, California -- Sept. 23 was the 2nd anniversary of the deaths of a couple local teenage boys here. Stephen and Alan passed side by side that night due to a drug called Methadone. On this anniversary hundreds of the boys friends, family members, and members of the community gathered at the boys' favorite spot to mourn their deaths and celebrate their lives, at the Memorial Skate Park.

Methadone is a narcotic medication that is primarily used to treat moderate to severe pain. Sometimes this medication is also used to treat the addiction of narcotic drugs. An example of this would be heroin.

Because of the misuse of this prescription, the city of Susanville mourned a very tragic event that they have never seen before. Two years ago the drug methadone somehow got distributed at a local party. Two boys, both 15, took one methadone pill each. No one at that party knew how much damage just one pill of a prescription medication could do. That night Stephen and Alan (last names confidential at the request of their families) lost their lives.

On Sept. 23, hundreds of community members gathered around Memorial Skate Park in Susanville at a candlelight vigil in memory of these two boys. The event was put on by a very valuable member of the community, Dave Gonsalves. It was also promoted by Lassen County Drug & Alcohol Program, Friday Night Live, and the local branch of the NOPE (Narcotic Overdose Prevention and Education) task force.

The event began with Stephen and Alan's parents talking to the teens and community members about their sons' lives, personalities, and accomplishments. They went and shared their personal experiences with drugs and the lives they had led due to drug use. They also included how great their lives are now that they are clean and sober.