GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — A Facebook page is showing the hard truth about drug use in the Carolinas.
A Gaston County mother is leading the charge to expose people getting high in public places.
"It's right next door and you don't even realize it," said the mom.
The videos aren't pretty, but it's the ugly truth families are forced to stomach in Gaston County.
The woman whose story you're about to read asked WCNC to remain anonymous.
"It's about the community in general," said the mother.
She's one of several admins on the Facebook page, "Only in Gaston County 5.0." Their goal is to shed light on a disturbing drug trend that's holding their community hostage.
"When I tell you, you don't realize how close it is to you, you don't," the mom of five said.
She learned that lesson the hard way.
"I thought she was taking medication prescribed, and I found out she was on meth, and it was after she OD'd on it," said the mother. "Everything I can do, Xavier, to keep my daughter from dying, I did it."
That includes calling the police and having her arrested on three different occasions.
NBC Charlotte obtained drug arrest statistics for the last two years. In 2017 from January through September between the Gaston County and Gastonia Police Departments, there were 341 meth-related arrests.
This year for the same time frame between both agencies, those numbers are up. There have been 428 meth-related arrests.
"Been to hell and back with my daughter," said the mother.
Her daughter is now clean.
"You almost lost her," asked NBC Charlotte's Xavier Walton.
"Yeah. I did," answered the mother.
"When you think about that, my daughter almost died from doing drugs, did you ever think about the alternative, what if she OD'd and didn't come back?" asked Walton.
"I thought about it every day," said the mother. "Nights I went to bed and didn't know if I was going to talk to her.
Where was she at? What was she doing? But when I called her, it was goodnight, mom, I love you. Don't worry."