Pubdate: Wed, 16 Aug 2006
Source: Valley Independent, The (Monessen, PA)
Copyright: 2006 The Tribune-Review Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.valleyindependent.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2641
Author: Jeff Pikulsky
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?136 (Methadone)

FATHER USING DAUGHTER'S DEATH TO SOUND WARNING ABOUT DRUGS

CALIFORNIA, Pa. - William Brna is trying to make the most out of a 
grim situation that has forever changed his life.

The Carroll Township resident had been helping his daughter, 
Gwendolyn Marie Brna Venanzi, battle a heroin addiction for the past 
three years.

Venanzi, of Pleasant Hills, lost her fight with the drug July 5, when 
paramedics found her dead at a house party in the Allentown section 
of Pittsburgh, where evidence of heroin use was found.

While Brna won't know for sure if his daughter's death was 
drug-related until toxicology tests are completed, he's certain her 
addiction contributed to her demise.

The loss has left a void in Brna's life - one he has decided to fill 
by speaking out on the warning signs of heroin addiction.

Brna came to California University of Pennsylvania on Tuesday to 
share his story as a guest on "Valley Views," an issues-oriented 
television show sponsored jointly by the university and The Valley 
Independent and hosted by Bob Burke, managing editor of the newspaper.

At the age of 41, Venanzi left behind her husband, two daughters, a 
teenage stepdaughter and four siblings.

Brna said he thought his daughter was on the road to recovery not 
long before her death.

"Up until about two months before she died, she was very interested 
in getting clean," he said.

"I don't know what happened. She had been living in our house for 
almost three years. She suddenly decided she wanted to go back (to 
the drug scene.). Two months later, she was dead."

Venanzi spent two weeks in jail and had been on probation for a 
possession of drug paraphernalia charge and another crime that hit 
close to home.

Brna said he and his wife turned their daughter in to police after 
she stole their checkbook in an attempt to get money for drugs.

Brna said his daughter was devoted to turning her life around after 
she was arrested. But she ultimately could not beat the drug.

"She admitted freely that she was an addict ... and was willing to 
take any help we would get her," Brna said. "She did go to rehab. 
When she came out, she was cheerful and happy and I thought we had 
made headway. But it evidently did not take too long for her to get 
back to her old habits. About two months before her death, she went 
back on the streets.

"I kept thinking we would find the magic key that would open it."

Brna said it was difficult finding help for his daughter.

"You cannot find one agency that will recommend other agencies. They 
all want to do it themselves," he said. "There is help available but, 
generally speaking, the different organizations are only interested 
in their point of view. If something doesn't work, they will not 
refer you to someone else.

"The system is to blame in that nobody really cares. The people or 
the organizations that can help, they don't care. They want that 
money, that's all. I'm not mad at the system. I'm just angry that I 
could not help my daughter because someone out there was working against me."

Venanzi had undergone psychiatric evaluations and spent time in three 
different drug rehabilitation facilities. She also was given 
methadone in fighting her addiction.

But nothing seemed to cure her.

"The problem with the methadone clinics is they make no attempt to 
wean them off the methadone," Brna said.

In one instance, Brna said his daughter was misdiagnosed by a 
psychologist's nurse as having bipolar disorder.

"I have since found out is that last thing you can do is to diagnose 
mental problems in a drug addict," he said. " "The symptoms, you 
can't separate them."

Brna said the penalty for dealing heroin should be more severe.

"It's been my personal feeling that any major dealer of heroin, if 
he's arrested or picked up, should be automatically killed," he said. 
" Get rid of him. He's not doing any good for anybody."

With the news of Venanzi's death came some denial on the family's part.

"Following the death, her mother didn't cry at all until about three 
days ago. It finally hit her what had happened," Brna said.

To honor his daughter, Brna has made it his mission to share her story.

"It's almost a guaranteed death if the addiction is not controlled," 
he said. "Maybe I can point the way for somebody to go and maybe I 
can make someone aware of the dangers of heroin addiction.

"I don't even know how much of an outreach I can do, but, if her 
death will spare one other person, it's worth it."

Brna's appearance on "Valley Views" will air on CUTV six times over 
the next two weeks - 8 p.m. tonight, Saturday, Monday, Aug. 23, Aug. 
26 and Aug. 28
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman