James Manieri, 53, was raised as a good, faithful Catholic young man in northern New Jersey and had even served as an altar server. But taking a dentist’s prescription of Vicodin at 28 years old sent him on a 15-year downward spiral of addiction, including to cocaine and heroin, and hunger and homelessness.
All that time, Manieri scraped out a life on city streets, including in Paterson, N.J., and spent time in rehab facilities, homeless shelters, and psych wards. He had been robbed, sexually assaulted, and beaten; had made two suicide attempts; and had almost died twice because of overdoses.