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Hunts Point Addiction Archives

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American


To keep up with my Hunts Point, Bronx series I've started an archive that I'll be updating with each future post. Below find links to all of my writings in reverse chronological order. Feel free to start from the beginning to get sense of the journey, or with more recent-action posts. This is a continual narrative exploration of addiction and poverty, in collaboration with photographer Chris Arnade. Thanks for reading.

October 2014

Thoughts of Drugs, and Other Things, While In Prison


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Traveling to Prison, There Are No Systems

What's Allowed in Prison? Not Hair Conditioner

Visiting Prison, Things Are Taken

September 2014

Overdosing While Homeless, Vanishing from Family

The Importance of Possessions While Homeless

Between Homelessness and Psychiatric Hospitals

Avoiding Heroin and Crack, Getting Hooked on K2

Meeting at a Methadone Clinic, Double-Crossing for Drug Sale

Facebook Updates While Homeless and in Rehab

The Unspeakable Stillness of HIV

Takeesha and Steve: The Inability to Prove Homelessness for Housing

Women's Portraits and Stories vs. the Sex Men Want from Them

Backpage: Hopes for Homeless Women, Written Reviews from Men

Circle, Hunt Women for Sex; Post in a Forum about It

The Man with Two Names, for Charm and Retribution

The Harm Men Do Women in the Bronx

The Man Who Prowls the Abandoned House for Women

Just a Look: The Threat and Persona of Assault and Violence

August 2014

Nothing Comes Free: Sexual Assault for a Place to Stay

Mental Illness, Sexual Advances and What Women Face

When 'Pimp' and 'Boyfriend' Become Interchangeable

Beauty: K2-Induced Seizures

The Mood of Drugs, the Tools Made and Traded

What It Takes: Nine Cents for Drugs

June 2014

Lincoln Hospital, Injuries from Homelessness: Small Comfort of a Bath

May 2014

Shelley: Threats, Crack Paranoia and My Door at 2 a.m.

Beauty: K2 to Deal, with Abscesses and Bullets

March 2014

Bernice: Abuse, Addiction and Hopelessness

Women, Sexual Abuse and Addiction

Eric and Sonya: Crystal Meth and a New City

Introducing Someone to the Drug that Killed Her

A New Town, a New Try at Outrunning a Felony

Death and the Language of Overdose

Pepsi: Setting Fires in the Underworld

Pepsi: Life is a Nerve Disorder

January 2014

Triggered: Drug Relapse, His and Hers

A Crack Study? Never Again

Life Outside a Methadone Clinic, or Getting Clean from Heroin

How It Is to Fiend

December 2013

Unanswered Calls from Jail

Iron Man: Addiction and the Lives We Tell

Holiday as a Mother: Crack, Escorting, Target Air Hockey Table

November 2013

One Year Later: I Invited Homeless Addicts to Thanksgiving Dinner

Letter to Charlie in Prison: Never Thought I'd Like a Pimp

Eric: All I Need to Escape Drug Charges Is...

Thanksgiving with Crack Instead of Family

October 2013

How to Be a Crack House Host

Where Did You Go? A Letter to Beauty Disappeared in Drugs, Poverty

Conversations with Men on the Run, or Not on the Run

Methadone: Sonya and the Impossibilities of Maintenance

September 2013

Delusions of Power

Following Love, or the Rise of Painkillers

Drugs in the Dirt: Hygiene for the Street Drug User

Romantic Comedy Goes Like This

August 2013

Faces of Overdose

The Meaning of Heroin Mortality: Happy Birthday, Sarah

HIV in a Post-Needle Exchange City

Abscesses: The Rarely Researched, Costly Marks of Heroin

July 2013

Stats Say Cocaine Use Is in Decline...But Is It for the Poor?

First Drug Charge Leaves a Man on the Run

Psychology of Breaking Out of Detox: Sarah

Help or Hurt? Outpatient Drug Treatment for the Homeless

June 2013

How to Shoot Up

Addicts as Parents, Part V: Painkillers Bring You Back

Addicts as Parents, Part IV: When Kids Matter Little

Addicts as Parents, Part III: Future Planning

Addicts as Parents, Part II: Drugs to Hospital, Another Day

Addicts as Parents, Part I: Pregnant, Now What?

May 2013

Why a Heroin Vaccine Isn't a Fix-It

April 2013

Roland: Children's Group Home to Drugs to Jail...Now What?

Sleeping on Pins: A Life Without Opiates

The No-Help Cycle: Jail Fails Addicts

Who Feels the War on Drugs? Two Hours in Drugs and Poverty

Beauty and the K2: Synthetic Marijuana Dependence

March 2013

A New Welcome, Why I Write on Addiction Culture

A Family's Struggle: Heroin, A Life Saga

February 2013

Policy Made Me Involved: We Need a Better Public Health System

Fire and Crack: A Night on Drug Corner

January 2013

Speedballing: Why Heroin and Crack Cocaine Are Mixed

Pain Doesn't Compare to Withdrawal

How They Live: Sonya and Eric, Heroin Addicts

December 2012

Addiction on the Streets: Frequently Asked Questions

Neecy: The Attitude Toward Relapse on the Streets

Takeesha: Crack, Heroin and Alcohol in Action

November 2012

I Invited Homeless Addicts to My House for Thanksgiving Dinner

Addicts Are Professional Vagabonds

October 2012

Haunted by Emily: When Addicts Disappear

Judgment Battles: Crack vs. Heroin

Anger, Crack and Duty: The Haze of Street Emotion

September 2012

Navigating Heroin Abuse on the Streets

A Street Addict's Cycle in NYC

Why K2 Is Pimps' Choice for Controlling Young Sex Workers

April 2012

Faces of Addiction Recovery in the Bronx (Photos)

Science, Meet Life: Why I Write on Addiction in the Bronx

March 2012

Strolling Craigslist Avenue for Drugs: Tatiana's Story

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About Cassie Rodenberg

I write, I listen, I research, I tell stories. Mostly just listen. I don't think we listen without judgment enough. I explore marginalized things we like to ignore. Addiction and mental illness is The White Noise behind many lives -- simply what Is. Peripherals: I write on culture, poverty, addiction and mental illness in New York City, recovering from stints as a chemist and interactive TV producer. During the day, I teach science in South Bronx public school.

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