Traveling from Golden Gate Park in San Francisco to Martin Luther King Park in Berkeley and then back to Civic Center Park in San Francisco and back to Jefferson Park in Oakland has been a way of life for him. Henry had been a musician for 20 years when he contracted glaucoma, leaving him blind in one eye and difficulty in seeing from the other. He had been using speed for ten years and after the glaucoma took its toll, he was forced to stop working in 1990. I lost everything. Cocaine really dropped me to my knees.
Henry looks down to the floor and takes a deep breath.
In 1993, my girlfriend and I split up. I had been spending all my money on cocaine and didn't have any place to go. That's when I became homeless and hit bottom. He says that the reason for going back to school is that he wants to pass on his experiences of sobriety and a responsible way of life. She and I are still very close even though she lives in Seattle.