It was an intervention disguised as a memorial.
About 50 people gathered at Hagen Park in Wilton Manors to remember Giovanni/Michael Milani and Trevor/Tate. They were both young adults, worked in the adult industry, and both appear to have died from drug overdoses.
While the toxicology report and death certificate haven’t been issued for Milani, it was well known he used and often supplied drugs to others. Shortly after his death, a friend of Milani was asked about the drug supply chain. The friend said Milani was the supply chain.
The purpose of the night wasn’t to condemn their use. The purpose was to let others know that help is waiting.
SunServe was there to offer grief and substance abuse counseling, and after the program concluded several people crowded around the table.
There were also test kits for fentanyl. Fentanyl is an operating room-grade drug and is found in many common street drugs ranging from heroin to cocaine to marijuana. All three drugs, plus meth, are commonly used in dance and strip clubs.
There is a movement to get test strips into bars and clubs, no questions asked. Some say it condones hard drug use. Proponents say users can’t get help next month if they die today.
Charles Horton owns LeBoy and had known Giovanni for more than a decade. They had their fights, and Horton often had to kick him out of the club for violating LeBoy’s zero tolerance policy.
Horton tried to help, letting him live with him for a time, drug testing him, and using tough love. Still, he said he feels like he failed his friend.
Drug use is rampant in South Florida’s party culture. Workers in the sex industry seem to have easier access and less family and support. SunServe, which sees everyone regardless of insurance, is one of the biggest organizations dedicated to helping people with mental and drug problems.
Message Received?
At the end, Jennifer McClain performed “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” The song choice is poignant; it’s an LGBTQ anthem that spans generations and its singer, Judy Garland, struggled with substance abuse and died young.
But it’s the lyrics of The Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby” that come to mind:
“Eleanor Rigby died in the church and was buried along with her name. Nobody came.
Father Mackenzie, wiping the dirt from his hands as he walks from the grave.
No one was saved.”
The people who need to hear the message weren’t there. Only about a half-dozen people under thirty were in the crowd.
Local dancers and performers were asked to come.
But there was one glimmer of hope. One of Millani’s friends stood up and said he was 10 days drug free. The death hit the 24-year-old like a brick to the head, and he’s trying. He is college educated and has a lot of friends around him.
Addiction doesn’t discriminate — it affects all groups of people — regardless of education, wealth, or social status.
