By: Tri Duong
To start, I would like to clarify to the reader that I, as the interviewer, have great intrigue in the drug epidemic because I have witnessed its destruction wherever I went.
The Aluminum Alchemist is a project in Fort Collins, Colorado, which takes aim at aiding those who suffer from addiction. Aluminum cans donated to the project are turned into money that will be used to support rehab centers.
To learn more about the rehab centers the project donates to, here is an article: Local mom creates aluminum can fundraiser for addiction recovery
(The Collegian)
“These cans, I know it might seem weird but it’s like every one of these aluminum cans is like a prayer.”
This interview between Millie Mitchell and I provided the perspective of how the project came about. I met with Mitchell for an interview at a local coffee shop to uncover the inspiration for her work.
Q: Can you tell us about the project and how it got started?
I started this can donation about six years ago (2015), and this was when my son is five years into his opiate addiction. I felt hopeless about the option for treatment. However, I think there are things we can break in and do, so that’s why I started doing all this. What I literally would do is wake up before dawn and go to parks where they had baseball games and collect aluminum cans. Then, I would take them to the recycling center to trade for money. This is when I opened up an account called The Aluminum Alchemist. I don’t know why but I just feel like when I collect cans, I feel like they have value and I know it will help somebody in the future with addiction. Trent was in and out on the street by then too.
Q: Who is Trent? Can you talk little more about him?
Trent is my third son and he became a heroin addict at age 20, as a result of an abused prescription of OxyContin. He was a skater and graffiti artist, loved music. Trent jumped a fence that had a 6 feet clearance and it cracked both his heels. The problem was he became addicted to the pain killers and the doctor kept re-filling the prescription.
To learn more about the prescription drug: OxyContin (FDA)
Q: How long did this go on for?
About two and a half months, then about six months later I had to take him to the hospital. This was when he confessed to me, “Mom I’m an addict and am using heroin now”. It was a recipe for disaster, he turned to the streets after the opiates ran out.
Q: Family relationships become strained in these situations. As a mother, what was the change in physiology or behavior that you noticed?
He just became less communicative, elusive and secretive. He was never around me probably because he was away using so that was the main thing. He did have a job, he was a cook at a really nice Italian restaurant and doing well for himself, but he screwed up there. This is where you question, do you want to be here, do you want to live because it doesn’t seem like it. Although Trent is alive now, he has hepatitis C
Q: Have you seen him overdose before? Is there a story you can share about that?
He has overdosed at least four times at my house. There was this time I was cooking in the kitchen, and I went to check on him and there was no answer, so I went in to see he was slumped over. And I pulled him up, he was blue and wasn’t breathing. The first time he overdosed, his body was all purple and his lips were blue. He had to go to ICU and almost died, so he had to be brought back. I thought that was it, he’s gone, so I had that experience.
Q: Coming back to the aluminum cans, I wanted to know what your philosophy or belief on the project was?
I hate that I know all this stuff, I wish I could be ignorant, but I can’t. That’s why I have to do something about it. These cans, I know it might seem weird but it’s like every one of these aluminum cans is like a prayer. It’s a possibility for someone to get treatment. I turned to these cans because it gives me hope to get my son treated, but it also helps others out even just a little.
At Colorado State University, there is a class called chemistry of addiction. There was research done to understand the long term effects of oxycodone usage as well as the individual factors that contribute to addictive tendencies.
It is found that the individuals addicted to opiates may have increased dangers to the liver and cardio vascular system. This type of reaction is congruent with Mitchell’s son. Hepatitis C was the result of excess intake of pain killers.
To learn more about the research: Oxycodone Addiction
I am currently keeping up with Mitchell’s story and further documenting Trent’s journey of becoming sober. I have reached out to Trent, but have yet to get an answer.
