Surviving Heroin Addiction: The Broad Street Diner Stories

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Broad Street Diner is located in Trenton, New Jersey – a city known for its diversity, deep-rooted history, and urban society. Trenton may be the capital of New Jersey, but it fares quite poorly – 38% of its population lived in poverty in 2016. Brittany McManus and Tina Russel faced immense life trials and tribulations in the city of Trenton. Regardless, the city cultivates a variety of characters who all have the same goal: to survive. Think union, think learning how to coexist with your polar opposite – where coping with the harsh realities of life doesn’t discern gender, race, ethnicity, or class.

Watch Brittany McManus, Tina Russel and their community at Broad Street Diner discuss heroin addiction and recovery:

Heroin Addiction and Recovery at Broad Street Diner

Britney McManus and Tina Russel come from entirely different backgrounds but have fought the same gruesome and discouraging life battle: heroin addiction. Both Brittany and Tina, now recovered addicts, waitress at Broad Street Diner and continue their journey as recoveries one day at a time. The two women showcase how they battled addiction and survived– how they created lives they didn’t know imaginable, lifting each other up in a community at Broad Street Diner.

McManus and Russel discuss their individual battles with addiction and the community at Broad Street Diner. The video also features the off-guard depiction of Broad Street employees Nancy Campi, Lori Simmons, Uriel Santiago, Lauren Peterson, Diane Zukowski, Irma Camilo, and Christina Panagiotidis.

Heroin Addiction Statistics

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, between 40 and 60% of recovering addicts relapse back into addiction. For heroin users, the relapse rate is even higher: nearly 80%. As such, eight out of ten people in recovery from heroin addiction will relapse at least once, possibly multiple times. That's why showcasing survivors' stories is so immensely crucial, not only for recovering addicts but for the betterment of society as a whole. Understanding is to know.

What Does Heroin Addiction Look Like To You?

What does heroin addiction look like to you? What do you picture in your mind? Watch this video to get a real hard look at what heroin addiction can do. Listening to McManus and Russell is a rare opportunity to truly know what heroin addiction looks like from the perspective of someone who has lived through it and come out on the other side.