Drug Addiction Stories & Info

I remember going into the convenience store that day and coming out to see a young man standing close to my car.  He told me he hated to bother me but wondered if I had a few dollars because he was hungry.  The scars on his face gave away the fact that he had been tweaking.  I talked to him for a few minutes.  I may have been a woman alone but it was a public area and I was experienced in these matters.  My younger brother had been a heroin addict.  I asked him his name and what he was doing for money.

He said his name was David.  He had just moved to the area but did not really know anyone.  He had not found a job yet and was getting desperate.  I looked him in the eye and asked him if he was a user.  He hesitated.

Then he admitted he was.  He said he had been on drugs for a couple of years and did not really have a family so he had thought of moving and making a fresh start.  Now he was hungry, he was going through withdrawal and he was desperate.  I asked him to just trust me a moment.

Then I went back into the store and bought him a sandwich out of the deli area along with a soft drink.  I took them back out to him and we sat on the curb.  He continued to talk to me, opening up like it had been held in so long it just needed a chance to breathe.

I told him my younger brother had been a heroin addict and if he would allow me, I could take him to the treatment center but first I would have to call them.  He looked me in the eye and said okay.  I called my brother’s cell phone first and he asked to talk to the young man.  Then he gave the phone to me.  My brother is a wonderful counselor but he is also a protective brother so he asked which store I was at and told me to just sit there and talk to him until he arrived.

We were able to help David that day because I knew what it was like as a teenager to live with a heroin addict.  I saw what it had done to my brother and our family and I saw what getting into treatment did for him as well.  While I went on to fulfill my dream of being a teacher, my brother turned his experiences into a desire to be a counselor and help others who became addicted to drugs.

I met David a little over a year ago.  He is in college now at the local university, having gotten his GED with some tutoring from me.  He stops by the house sometimes and has become an adopted member of the family.  He is coming over for Thanksgiving this year and my brother tells me he helps out some at the center and is thinking of getting into that field.

He said his name was David that day and neither of us knew then what a difference we would make in each other’s life.  He started a new journey and it was my way of paying back to someone else because my brother had gotten help long ago.