KPU Prof’s Photo Essay Sheds Light on the Lives of Long-Term Heroin Users

Aaron Goodman photographs and interviews participants of heroin-assisted treatment program

Heroin use is spiralling out of control in North America. The New York Times has called it an “epidemic,” and it’s not just in the United States—there are as many as 90,000 heroin users in Canada alone, according to Providence Health Care.

Aaron Goodman, a faculty member in journalism and communication studies at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, spent over a year photographing and interviewing three long-term heroin users to try and dispel some of the stereotypes of drug photography. After learning about former Conservative Health Minister Rona Ambrose’s efforts to ban heroin-assisted treatment in Vancouver, Goodman set out to create a “new, more balanced, more human type of image” of recovering addicts in the program.

Heroin assisted treatment is a form of therapy which involves administering pharmacological heroin “under strict controls in a clinical setting to those who have failed in other treatments like methadone,” according to the Drug Policy Alliance website.

“The people involved in the program are often users who haven’t sufficiently responded to other forms of treatment,” says Goodman, so they receive pharmacological heroin in a clinical setting. “While these programs have long been recognized as scientifically sound and cost-saving in countries like Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Denmark, heroin-assisted treatment is only beginning to be offered in North America.”

Goodman approached Providence Health Care, the organization that runs the heroin-assisted treatment program, with his vision to produce a photo documentary about some of its participants. Many were interested in collaborating with Goodman, but he chose to document three individuals—Cheryl, Marie and Johnny. They had all used heroin for decades and tried detox and methadone in order to stop, but hadn’t been able to.

He says that he chose participants whom he hoped he could photograph spending time with their loved ones, working, and engaging in a wide range of activities. Those images, which he considers “the least stigmatizing,” were the primary focus of his project.

“My goal was not to ignore reality, but to provide context,” he says. “The media has often maligned or misrepresented drug users. They deserve to be heard and have their voices amplified.”

After choosing the final images for the project (out of hundreds), he realized that “the photos by themselves couldn’t tell the full story.” On their own, there was too much margin for dehumanizing interpretation of Goodman’s subjects, so he decided to interview his subjects as well.

“I asked them questions like, ‘Do you feel that I represented you accurately? Is there anything you would have done differently? What do you think people will get out of that photograph?’ The answers that I got from that were very valuable,” Goodman says.

The project has so far been published by Medium/Vantage and The Conversation. Each of the photos are paired with excerpts from Goodman’s interviews with the subjects.

“I hope the people see it for who I am, and you know, trying to be a recovering drug addict,” says Cheryl, in response to a photo of herself crying at her father’s funeral site. “In my journey in my life today, I’m going through a heroin program to better my life and I just want the people to know that they need opiate programs for heroin addicts more, just so they can save the people who are out there, still struggling on the streets.”

Goodman describes the experience of producing the project as “alienating, isolating and gruelling,” but also incredibly fulfilling. “The piece requires viewers to do a bit of work,” he admits, “because it calls on people to not only look at the photos, but also read the interview excerpts. So far, the responses from viewers has been phenomenal. I think there’s a yearning for stories that reflect people’s humanity.”

Goodman’s photos and interviews can be found on his site: aarongoodman.com.