Walk in my Shoes Podcast

26 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 3 years ago - ★★★★★ - 58 ratings

We talk to people who face adversity in their lives everyday and explore what it is to be dependent on a drug like heroin, or to live with HIV, or to be transgender for example. We explore their day to day lives and delve into the circumstances that surround their life. *Explicit language in some episodes*

Mental Health Health & Fitness Sexuality hiv prep syracuse drugs druguse harmreduction heroin junkie naloxone narcan
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Episodes

Season 2 Update

April 26, 2021 13:41 - 1 minute - 2.45 MB

Season 2 is in the works. If you'd like to be on a future episode email me at [email protected].

Joslyn - Foster care, rape and her first child

February 07, 2020 07:30 - 13 minutes - 18.7 MB

Joslyn talks to us about growing up in foster care, running away frequently and the rape that resulted in her daughter. Her bubbly personality is infectious despite all the trauma she has experienced.

Brandon - living with HIV, recovery and growing up in foster care

January 31, 2020 07:30 - 25 minutes - 35.2 MB

Brandon is a 31 year old white man who talks to us about living with HIV, recovery from substance use disorder and his incredibly difficult childhood in foster care where he experienced abuse.

Eddie Revisited - Suicide attempts, bipolar disorder and mental health challenges

January 24, 2020 07:30 - 30 minutes - 42.5 MB

We sit down and chat with Eddie again, today we chat to him about his mental health and suicide attempts. He discusses how his struggles with his sexual orientation caused his first suicide attempt when he was 11 years old. *Explicit language*

Shelly - Living with HIV, abusive relationships and recovery

January 17, 2020 07:30 - 27 minutes - 38.4 MB

Shelly is a 54 year old black woman from Newark, New Jersey. She is a wonderful role model to many. She lives with HIV, has 15 years in recovery from drug use and now works helping people who are newly diagnosed with HIV come to terms with that diagnosis. She talks about her spent time in prison for killing an abusive boyfriend, her HIV and how her husband dealt with her HIV diagnosis with great kindness.

Erin - Living in a shelter, disability and the future

January 10, 2020 07:30 - 24 minutes - 33.6 MB

Erin is from Mexico, NY and currently lives in a local homeless shelter. She's trying hard to get back on her feet but continues to struggle to find housing. We talk through her life and discuss her plans to get married in December 2020. Donations to Erin's wedding dress can be made through Venmo @weddingdress2020

Mateo - law school, growing up in a conservative family and being transgender

January 03, 2020 07:30 - 47 minutes - 65.4 MB

Mateo is a 24 year old transgender man from California. He's in his first year of law school but its taken an incredible journey to get there. Born into a highly conservative family with a pastor for a father, he grew up in a homophobic and trans phobic home.

Emily - escaping an abusive marriage, sex work and trauma

December 27, 2019 07:30 - 23 minutes - 32.5 MB

Emily chats to us about the sexual abuse she experienced as a teen, her abusive marriage and her goals for the future.

Amber: Dating as a trans-woman, sex trafficking and church

December 20, 2019 07:30 - 16 minutes - 22.9 MB

Amber is a 20 year old trans woman. She was "pimped out" when she was only 11 years old and tells us about her experiences. She explain the loneliness associated with being transgender and the challenges dating.

Clifford: Preventing violence, gangs and the death of his 17 year old son

December 13, 2019 07:30 - 26 minutes - 36.8 MB

Cliff explains to us the work he does now to prevent violence after he lost his 17 year old son in a shooting several years ago. Cliff literally walks the streets with the goal of intercepting violence. We discuss the loss of his son and how he shows others different ways to resolve conflict.

Ana'lise: Sexual abuse, marriage at 18 and mental health challenges

December 06, 2019 07:30 - 12 minutes - 17.8 MB

Ana'lise talks about her experiences with sexual abuse when she was 9 years old, we discuss the longer term mental health implications and how she's found love in her 3 year marriage to her wife.

Lanika: Losing her parents to AIDS and honoring their legacy - World AIDS Day Special

December 01, 2019 07:30 - 28 minutes - 39.1 MB

Lanika is a 45 year old black woman from Syracuse, New York. She lost both her parents to the HIV epidemic. We talk about her mother's life and legacy, while exploring why people of color are more affected by HIV/AIDS and still face significant health disparities.

Henry: Codependency and loving someone using heroin

November 29, 2019 07:30 - 24 minutes - 34 MB

Henry has never used drugs but he fell for a woman who did. He talks to us about how he got sucked into helping her get drugs, her using in his car and the codependency he developed as the relationship progressed.

Miguel: Life after prison, Latin Kings gang affiliation, and avoiding drugs

November 22, 2019 07:30 - 13 minutes - 19.2 MB

Miguel explains what it was like to come out of prison after 18 years. He talks about his long affiliation with the Latin Kings gang and the importance of respect on the streets and in prison.

Kim: Growing up transgender, passing and coming out

November 15, 2019 07:30 - 19 minutes - 27 MB

"Kim" is a young, bi-racial, transgender woman from Geneva, NY. She talks to us about realizing that she was transgender when she was around 4 years old and how she dealt with her family's negative reaction to her gender identity. We talk about her experience in college being outed by people she thought were her friends.

Cody: Juvenile detention, bloods affiliation & childhood abuse

November 08, 2019 07:30 - 12 minutes - 17.4 MB

"Cody" is 21 years old and he's already spent 9 years in juvenile detention and prison. We explore his childhood and what led to an aggravated assault charge at 11 years old.

Hector: Heroin, ADHD and recovery challenges (mini episode)

November 05, 2019 07:30 - 8 minutes - 12.3 MB

"Hector" is a 56 year old man from the Bronx currently using heroin. In this short episode we talk through his challenges with drug use, but his resolve to keep picking himself up and making another go at recovery.

Karen - Part 2: HIV and preventing youth gang involvement

November 01, 2019 06:30 - 19 minutes - 26.7 MB

"Karen" explains her journey from using crack cocaine, being in prison and being diagnosed with HIV to now working on her MBA. In this episode she talks more about living with HIV and her work with young people to keep them from making the mistakes she did.

Karen - Part 1: Crack cocaine, prison and HIV

October 31, 2019 06:30 - 23 minutes - 31.9 MB

Karen talks about her experiences growing up in Syracuse, NY. Running away from home when she was 18 and then being pinned down by a boyfriend and injected with a heroin substitute. She explains the drug dependence that followed and her time in prison.