Other Side YouTube: Bring Hope to Those Battling Addiction

Hello, my name is Eric with the Other Side YouTube channel.

This channel is something I dreamed of doing many years ago. To meet people on the streets and capture their life stories. I have been fascinated with it since I was a little kid, always wondering how people end up in those positions. I could see that they have lived through things and carry a weight with them from their past. That they have experienced the "other side" of life and endured things that most of us can't imagine.

In 2020 when everything shut down due to Covid, I finally decided to go out and interview someone. That first experience changed me. It was so intense and heartbreaking that I decided I can't just film the stories, I have to try to help too.

I have met many amazing people on this journey and I have had many good and bad experiences trying to help. I have been able to reconnect people with family members who thought they were dead and with friends who didn't know what happened to the person they were once close to. I have seen someone make it successfully through treatment and get their life back. I have seen someone realize that they are deserving of a better life and begin healing. These are beautiful things.

On the flip side, I have also seen people quit rehab. I have been there for someone who bailed last minute on treatment on 3 different occasions. I have witnessed relapses in real time, directly in front of the facility that could've saved them. I have seen people choose evil over good, darkness over light. People who decided to sell their body for drugs instead of letting me take them to a safer place. Prevented someone from being raped at knifepoint who shortly after left again to get high. But that is the reality of addiction.

Despite those events I do not feel discouraged one bit. They were all lessons and have taught me what it takes to help an addict. You cannot make an addict want to stop using. But I do believe some kindness goes a long way. Someone who spends time and gets to know them and cares goes a long way. Ultimately I believe I have instilled a little bit of hope in each person to not give up. There is always hope. And I will be there for anyone the day they are ready to make a change.

Fast forward to today. I go out to areas around Miami on the weekends to meet people struggling with addiction and to follow up with people from my channel. I buy meals, usually for multiple people on those trips, as well as donate clothes, soaps, shampoos, ponchos for rain, bags to carry items, etc. All of this comes from the money I make from my full time day job.

As the channel grows, I would love to be able to make a bigger difference and do more for the people I meet. Any contribution big or small will help me to help others and to get closer to my dream of doing this with my life. It will help me to continue to capture these stories from the other side and to spread love and help anyone who is open to it.

Thank you all for your support!

Other Side YouTube Channel