An Ohio city is standing up as a voice for children caught in the middle of the heroin epidemic. WARNING: Photos in the story may be graphic for some.

WARNING: Photos in the story may be graphic for some.

EAST LIVERPOOL, Ohio - An Ohio city is standing up as a voice for children caught in the middle of the heroin epidemic.

The city of East Liverpool posted powerful images and a message to its Facebook page Thursday.

The photos show two adults passed out in the front seats of a minivan and a 4-year-old boy in the back.

"We feel we need to be a voice for the children caught up in this horrible mess," the city wrote. "This child can't speak for himself but we are hopeful his story can convince another user to think twice about injecting this poison while having a child in their custody."

The city acknowledged that the photos may be offensive, but felt it was important to show the public the horrors they deal with in helping to fight the epidemic.

"...it is time that the non-drug using public sees what we are now dealing with on a daily basis," the city wrote. "The poison known as heroin has taken a strong grip on many communities, not just ours. The difference is we are willing to fight this problem until it's gone and if that means we offend a few people along the way, we are prepared to deal with that."

According to a police report, an East Liverpool officer spotted a vehicle driving erratically. The officer then witnessed the driver slam on his brakes as the vehicle approached a stopped school bus that was dropping off children in the area.

Soon after, the officer reportedly approached the vehicle. The officer says the woman in the passenger seat was unconscious and the man driving was ‘bobbing his head back and forth’ and his speech was incoherent. The officer says the driver then lost consciousness.