Sonia: Hunts Point, Bronx
Sonia, 46 years old and the mother of five, is a crack addict who "sells her body for drugs." Smart, polite, and well-spoken she told me and my friend Nina of her life-long battle with her addiction. She started when she was 22, an overwhelmed single mother of three children working two jobs. She got into prostitution, becoming "a five dollar wh**e," trading sex for drugs with neighborhood dealers.
When we asked her how much money she needs a day for the drugs she said "as much as I can. I can't stop. I get some money, go and buy it, smoke crack, relax for 30 minutes. I have to get some more. It's non-stop. Until I keep walking back and forth and nothing nothing nothing gives, that's when I will say, 'God says go home.'" She has a "significant other," a wonderful man who's been with her for 17 years. He does not drink, smoke, or do any drugs. Other faces of addiction below
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