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
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
Life Outside a Methadone Clinic, or Getting Clean from Heroin
December 2013
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
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
Following Love, or the Rise of Painkillers
Drugs in the Dirt: Hygiene for the Street Drug User
Romantic Comedy Goes Like This
August 2013
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
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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