Craig: Hunts Point Bronx

Craig, 42, was with Deshawn when I met him. When asked if he wanted to tell his story he said, "you going to be here a long time. I got a way with words." From Harlem, Craig says he was "born with a silver spoon. I grew up in a strong family. My parents both worked good jobs." He didn't use crack until he was 35. "I had all these issues piling on me. The weight just got to be too much, and one last thing fell on me, small like a feather, but it was just enough to break me." He eventually lost his job and family, unable to quit the drugs. "Thing about crack is you always trying to find an elusive high, you chasing that first time, like a dog going in circles after its tail." Now he stays mostly in Hunts Point, doing whatever he can. "Hunts Point will twist you up like a pretzel. If you can survive this place, you can survive anything, cause it don't get any realer than this."

 

When I asked him how he wanted to be described, he gave a big smile and said, "smartest dummy you will ever meet."

 

I post people's stories as they tell them to me. I am not a journalist. I don't try to verify, just listen.

 

More on Addiction: Faces of Addiction

 

Done