From Doom to Outreach A Vancouver addict’s path to recovery
Randy Miller, once a downtown Eastside drug addict, survived two near fatal moments and became a spokesman for education. After a life on the streets and a featured subject in the 1999 docu mentary Through A Blue Lens, he entered rehab, rebuilt family ties, and has been clean for over seven years. He speaks to students in Chetwynd about his experiences, hoping to deter youth from drugs.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Chetwynd
New Westminster
Randy Miller
Hollywood
Miller
Vancouver
Vancouver Police Department
Mentary
Miller’s descent into street life and drug addiction
Randy Miller recalls high school as a turning point when drugs opened his world. He describes heroin use at Miss New West, rapid withdrawal, and a slide into theft to fund the habit. After 14 years on Vancouver’s skid row, he cut ties with family, lived in squalor, and endured drug-induced psychosis and hospitalizations, even smuggling drugs into a ward. See MILLER, page 9.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Miller
New Westminster Secondary School
Miss New West
New West
Vancouver
Skid Row
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NHS
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People’s Drugmart
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