by Susan B. Anna

Created on: June 14, 2009

The mid 80's was a time for outdoor block parties, summer jams and getting high on weed or drunk on beer. I can recall the many nights we had taken a chance with our lives as we partied sometimes till five in the morning, and then did it all over again the next day. My friends and I were into so many things our parents didn't know about, but we never let each other down. If we went out as a group, we returned as a group. There was no such thing as leaving a party without leaving together, and we always had each other's backs. I pretty much enjoyed my summers and always hated when it drew close to the end. Once the 90's strolled in everything changed though. The crack epidemic took over our entire neighborhood, and slowly but surely I watched a lot of my friends succumb to the little white rock and turn their lives upside down.

Yolanda was one that didn't make it out of this era alive. Getting that next hit changed her life entirely and she was even selling her body for that next fix. It was horrible watching this one drug destroy so many lives, not to mention take a few with it in the process. Yolanda was sweet, loving and very caring. Before this drug of choice took over her life, she was the best friend anybody would be lucky enough to have. In addition to using crack cocaine she was also drawn to heroin. Knowing her as well as I did I knew she didn't know and was scared to even try injecting herself, but would occasionally allow others to do it for her. Eventually she dropped the crack cocaine, but continued to get high as often as she could on the heroin.

A few months later she was found dead in an abandoned lot, partially nude and according to police she was also burned multiple times by a lit cigarette. Cause of death, heroin overdose by cause of injection. Now as stated before she never knew how to inject herself, so someone else had to help her do it. At the time she was involved with two men. One she loved and the one who tried his best to get her to quit, and the other she couldn't love, but enjoyed using to her advantage so she can be allowed to get high in his house. Due to this being considered a drug overdose the police never truly investigated her death, but many thought that she had to have been murdered. She was street smart, and she knew never to overdo it, not to mention she always made sure to take what she knew she could handle. It was also a coincidence that where they found her body was only two buildings away from the man she rejected, yet still managed to see so she could get her next hit in the privacy of his home.

As I recall how many people were affected by her death it brings a smile to my face, because it only proves that she was loved and respected by m any, no matter how she lived her life at the end. Everyone remembered her as she was prior, and during her wake many had nothing but good things to say about her. It was a final good-bye to someone we held very close to our heart, and someone we will never be able to forget. The way she died was tragic, but the way she lived her life prior to her drug use will always be remembered and forever be treasured because she truly deserved it. To this day she is still greatly missed, and talked about as often as possible. The neighborhood changed a lot after her death. Many saw it as a wakeup call, and turned their lives around and many simply moved away, but her death made an impact. May she rest in peace knowing that her loss brought a neighborhood together, and helped many others choose to lead a drug free life...

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