How Can I Help a Drug Addict Quit?

My neighbor is using drugs.

She is a sweet young lady for the most part but she has a lot of problems due to her drug addiction. She seems to have some memory loss and has been in trouble with the state regarding the care of her children.  How can I help her?

I listen.  I do research online, which can be overwhelming.  There are so many suggestions regarding how to help a drug addict.  I have never dealt with this area of problems before, but I do look upon my young neighbor as a sort of surrogate daughter and really want to help her.

I can tell she is a bright young lady, but the drugs have made her lose the sparkle she once had and she has low self-esteem.  The drugs have affected her brain.  I know this because one night two of the other neighbors made up a story about themselves and she believed it even as the rest of us at the cookout knew it was just made up.  Drugs have taken away her clarity and ability to rationalize but how can I help a drug addict quit?

I have decided to try to talk to someone who has been in a similar situation.  Maybe they can help me to help her. I am really not sure which way to turn at this point.

I want to help my neighbor, but how?

She is not close to her family so I do not know how to contact them.  I do not really know anything about drugs so I am not sure exactly what she is on.  I know it is something because it affects everything about her when she is on something and also when she isn’t because of how the cravings maker her act.

I have heard it takes a commitment to help someone get off of drugs.  I am willing to do that, but I need someone to show me the right things to do for her.  She comes over and has coffee and talks to me about the dreams she used to have.  When I try to encourage her, she tells me it’s too late.  I know it isn’t and I am trying to help her.  She is in her early twenties, but she feels like her life is already over; yet, I can see she has something special.  Please tell me,  how can I help a drug addict quit?