Walk in my Shoes Podcast: Recent Episodes
Nicky Ruszkowski
We talk to people who face adversity in their lives everyday and explore what it is to be dependent on a drug like heroin, or to live with HIV, or to be transgender for example. We explore their day to day lives and delve into the circumstances that surround their life. Explicit language in some episodes
Season 2 is in the works. If you'd like to be on a future episode email me at ruszkown@upstate.edu.
Brandon is a 31 year old white man who talks to us about living with HIV, recovery from substance use disorder and his incredibly difficult childhood in foster care where he experienced abuse.
We sit down and chat with Eddie again, today we chat to him about his mental health and suicide attempts. He discusses how his struggles with his sexual orientation caused his first suicide attempt when he was 11 years old. Explicit language
Shelly is a 54 year old black woman from Newark, New Jersey. She is a wonderful role model to many. She lives with HIV, has 15 years in recovery from drug use and now works helping people who are newly diagnosed with HIV come to terms with that diagnosis. She talks about her spent time in prison for killing an abusive boyfriend, her HIV and how her husband dealt with her HIV diagnosis with great kindness.
Mateo is a 24 year old transgender man from California. He's in his first year of law school but its taken an incredible journey to get there. Born into a highly conservative family with a pastor for a father, he grew up in a homophobic and trans phobic home.
Emily chats to us about the sexual abuse she experienced as a teen, her abusive marriage and her goals for the future.
Amber is a 20 year old trans woman. She was "pimped out" when she was only 11 years old and tells us about her experiences. She explain the loneliness associated with being transgender and the challenges dating.
Cliff explains to us the work he does now to prevent violence after he lost his 17 year old son in a shooting several years ago. Cliff literally walks the streets with the goal of intercepting violence. We discuss the loss of his son and how he shows others different ways to resolve conflict.
Ana'lise talks about her experiences with sexual abuse when she was 9 years old, we discuss the longer term mental health implications and how she's found love in her 3 year marriage to her wife.
Lanika is a 45 year old black woman from Syracuse, New York. She lost both her parents to the HIV epidemic. We talk about her mother's life and legacy, while exploring why people of color are more affected by HIV/AIDS and still face significant health disparities.
Henry has never used drugs but he fell for a woman who did. He talks to us about how he got sucked into helping her get drugs, her using in his car and the codependency he developed as the relationship progressed.
Miguel explains what it was like to come out of prison after 18 years. He talks about his long affiliation with the Latin Kings gang and the importance of respect on the streets and in prison.
"Kim" is a young, bi-racial, transgender woman from Geneva, NY. She talks to us about realizing that she was transgender when she was around 4 years old and how she dealt with her family's negative reaction to her gender identity. We talk about her experience in college being outed by people she thought were her friends.
"Cody" is 21 years old and he's already spent 9 years in juvenile detention and prison. We explore his childhood and what led to an aggravated assault charge at 11 years old.
"Hector" is a 56 year old man from the Bronx currently using heroin. In this short episode we talk through his challenges with drug use, but his resolve to keep picking himself up and making another go at recovery.
"Karen" explains her journey from using crack cocaine, being in prison and being diagnosed with HIV to now working on her MBA. In this episode she talks more about living with HIV and her work with young people to keep them from making the mistakes she did.
Karen talks about her experiences growing up in Syracuse, NY. Running away from home when she was 18 and then being pinned down by a boyfriend and injected with a heroin substitute. She explains the drug dependence that followed and her time in prison.
"Kittie" is a local woman from Canandaigua, NY. She talks about her experiences with early drug use, law school, and sex work. She helps us to understand her poly relationship model and how it works for her and her husband.
Kristen talks about her experiences using prescription opioids and eventually heroin. She explains her journey away from heroin use and how she now uses her experience to help keep other people using drugs alive.
"Fly girl" is a 29 year old trans woman from Auburn, NY. She talks about her experiences as a black trans woman, her battle to stay away from crack cocaine and her constant fear for her safety.
We talk to "Alexis", a 44 year old black woman from Upstate NY. She explains her struggles with crack cocaine, homelessness and sex work. We explore how she doesn't see a way out of the cycle of poverty.
We talk to "Eddie", a 30 year old black, gay man about his experiences safeguarding his health with HIV prevention medication PrEP. We get to chat about his experiences with sex work and explore his thoughts on sexual health.
Our intro episode. A short background from your host, some information about whats ahead and what we're trying to achieve.