Tragedy of US crystal meth orphans [View All]

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1548835,00.html

The House of Hope stands on land cleared by a tornado that roared through the woods a few years ago near this little town. But the vulnerable children inside are more concerned with man-made dangers. In this corner of rural America something out there is much worse than a twister: it is called crystal meth.

Known as crank or ice, meth is the latest drug epidemic to hit America. Following hard on such scourges as heroin and crack, meth has taken a stranglehold on large swathes of the US. Unlike its predecessors, it is not found in inner-city ghettos but in the mostly white rural heartland of states such as Iowa, Missouri and Tennessee, devastating such places as Cumberland County, a picturesque place of rolling forests overshadowed by the Smoky Mountains.

The House of Hope, near Crossville, looks after some of the innocent victims. Dubbed 'meth orphans', they are children taken into care when their parents are arrested and jailed. They have usually grown up in 'meth labs', home factories for making the drug, and have suffered terrible mental and physical abuse. The House provides temporary refuge until foster parents can be found.

The need is great. In the last six months more than 60 meth orphans have come through the doors. All are from Cumberland County, whose population is just 50,000. 'We are at the epidemic stage in Tennessee. It is terrible,' said Mike Steinmann, head of the orphanage, standing in a room full of toys donated by local people.