Drug Addiction Stories & Info

To put it bluntly, Levi (also known as Spotted Wolf) is one of the most charming street people I’ve ever met.  I look at this man and can see that in the past, before the broken noses and drug use; he would have been a very handsome Native American man.  I met Levi in the parking lot of the Family Dollar one day.  We must have talked for over an hour.  He told me about his late wife and how he always swore to protect her and about the love they shared.  I was charmed, but I was not blind to the fact that losing his beloved wife had made Levi a broken down wreck (albeit a charming one).

His face is now scarred from the many fights he must have been in.  He does have enough self-respect to stay at a homeless shelter when available so he can eat and shower. Other than that, he spends his time either trying to get drugs or trying to get people to buy him some Listerine from Family Dollar.  (Listerine has alcohol in it).  I know there are times he sleeps in the doorways of businesses or wherever he can find that he doesn’t think he’ll be found by the police.  It so happened I was in another store and mentioned Levi.  One of the workers there knew him, back before the drug use.  She said that Levi and his wife used to have a simple, but nice house with a pretty yard.  Levi had a job as a laborer and treated his wife like a princess.  “But”, she noted, “That was before”.  I nodded, understanding that “before” was before his wife passed away, before the drug and alcohol abuse started.

I’ve met street people before, but none of them really tugged at my heartstrings like Levi.  I think of his now broken and scarred face and then I think of how truly charming he is.  Levi also had on a hospital bracelet and told me of his last admission.  Levi isn’t going to be around much longer and I think overall the world is going to lose a wonderful man.  If only he hadn’t turned to drugs and alcohol to comfort him through his grief.  If only he had had someone to talk to and help him through it.  I can only hope now that when Levi passes, it is at least not in the streets.