Conquering Addiction

For William, the fight against using crack cocaine is a recent one—he has only been clean for three weeks. "I still struggle from day to day," he says. "It's very hard."

Though his attempt to stay clean is only a few weeks old, William says this isn't the first time he has given up drugs. "I know what it's like to be clean. It's something that I actually chase after," he says. At one time, William was able to stay drug-free for two and a half years. He got married, relocated and started a family. For a while, things with his wife and three kids were "great"—until he couldn't resist anymore. "Using actually took my wife from me, in a way," he says.

While William admits that life off drugs feels better, he just couldn't stop. "What I'm trying to do when I use is escape for a minute, escape my reality," he says.