Documentary details opioid tragedy in Kensington
PHILADELPHIA >> When Jill Frechie and John Ricciutti came to the Kensington section of Philadelphia to make a film about an after-school program which feeds needy children, they were appalled by the overwhelming evidence of the drug epidemic that is concentrated in that section of Philadelphia - ground zero for the opioid epidemic.
They knew they had to do something and given that they are filmmakers, that something was a film.
Frechie and Ricciutti recently won an award for their five-minute short “Kensington in Crisis.” A longer version is in the final stages of editing and set to be released by the end of the year. So far the trailer has garnered four prizes: A Cammy Award; Independent Shorts Award; an Indie Short Fest Award; and an IndieX Film Fest Award.
Frechie, of Gladwyne, and Ricciutti, a Radnor resident, both say they’ve learned a lot since embarking on this project in October 2018.
“When I first started the project I saw a hopeless state in Kensington,” said Frechie. “When I got down there and started talking to people my perspective changed. I feel there is hope. People can change with the right hand holding and patience, people can change. People can make a difference. If they go to rehab and relapse, it’s not a failure. It’s a setback. It can take eight times. Every time they go to rehab, it’s a learning curve. It’s not just one and done. It’s not a quick cure it’s a lifelong struggle.”
Ricciutti said, “It changed my life, in that I was not a believer in it being a disease. I was one of the people who thought it was a choice you make.”
Frechie said that her grandfather once owned a cigar store in Kensington so she had good childhood memories about the place. When she told her students at Montgomery County Community College that she was going there, one of them warned her about the addicts and prostitutes. She didn’t believe her and was shocked to see that the student was right.
“It sort of started as to us wondering why this is happening,” said Frechie. “It took us down a rabbit hole. There was no one answer to why. It is a multifaceted problem.”
The filmmakers interviewed more than 40 people, including Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, police and SEPTA officials, doctors, psychiatrists, addicts, a former drug dealer and those who are trying to help in the course of their filming. They took precautions, such as wearing thick-soled shoes so they would not be stuck by the needles that litter the sidewalks and getting vaccinated for Hepatitis A, which is rampant in that area. They learned how to use Narcan to revive overdosing addicts and carry a Narcan kit with them.
“Crisis in Kensington” is a production of MainLine Television, and is funded by the Jon Powell Family Foundation.
“Once we told people we weren’t there to capitalize, they took us into their hearts,” said Ricciutti. “Jill and I became deeply rooted in the community. We went to events. I filmed a wedding there last summer. We became part of the community. We didn’t put together a soap opera product.”
Although they are volunteering their time as producers, they are paying a professional film editor who is editing some 100 hours of footage.
One of the most shocking things the pair learned was that one pharmaceutical company sent a former stripper to give lap dances to doctors to peddle opioids. Another surprise was meeting an elderly lady who was dealing heroin from her purse.
“Everybody has somebody that is touched by this problem,” said Frechie. “You’d be shocked what we’ve seen.”
Learning more about addiction hit home for Ricciutti. His sister was addicted and has been in recovery for 27 years, he said.
The filmmakers interviewed Delaware County District Attorney Katayoun Copeland for her perspective, and Judge Frank Hazel, who runs the Delaware County Drug Court.
“I’ve seen what is does,” said Hazel in the film footage. “I’ve seen what it does to families. I’ve seen what it does to individuals. And what it does to children.”
Hazel said there are widespread mental health problems not being addressed by the state that lead to addiction and crime.
“And not to do so, in my judgement. is a crime in itself,” said Hazel. Many repeat offenders have drug addiction problems and that “almost always includes a mental health issue,” he said.
Ricciutti said, “Basically, it doesn’t only come down to dollars. It comes down to a lot of things.”
There are no easy solutions to the drug problem that besets Kensington.
“So we want to change the way people think and save lives. That’s our goal,” said Frechie. “It’s a microcosm of what is happening all over the world. You take away the jobs, an income that leads to poverty and desperation, then addiction, then death.”
Some of the hopeful aspects of the situation are those people who are working to help the addicts - for example, Eddie Z. who runs The Last Stop.
“He spends his entire day helping other people,” said Frechie. “There are some amazing, amazing people. We have met incredible angels.”
Frechie mentioned an addict who was kicked out of his home in New York and ended up living in a storm drain on the Roosevelt Boulevard. He was taken in by Eddie Z., she said.
“Another thing is how the drug really rewires your brain,” said Frechie. “That was shocking to hear. It literally takes away all your happiness. It makes you think only the drug can give you euphoria and happiness.”
There are also normal people who live in Kensington, the “Kenzos,” who want their community restored, she said. Football player Zach and Julie Ertz are planning “a very large sports center at Erie and I Avenue so that could help the community,” she said. The library is also an oasis.
“There are pockets of hope,” said Frechie.
“Our goal, honestly, is to get more people to know about the problem,” she said. So far, more than a thousand people have seen the short.
“That means more people know about the problem,” she said. “And the more people who know about the problem, the more it is likely to get fixed.