NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A man says he knows all too well the struggles many people of our city face. He knows it because he lived it for years. It hasn't been long since he faced his darkest days. He's on a mission to give back in the way he can.
"It's kinda surreal just being back," said Justin Biggs, walking alongside an interstate bridge. "I never thought I would have to come back. I slept under the bridge every night with roughly 10 people. Mental health doesn't discriminate. Addiction doesn't discriminate. It could be you, your daughter, your son. It could be anyone."
Justin was only 16 when the course of his life changed for the first time.
"I went to my mom's medicine cabinet to get Lortab," he said. "I remember taking two, and it was the best I'd ever felt in my life. It just made me feel numb, and I loved it. It made me feel like I wanted to feel this way every day for the rest of my life. That's what I ended up doing."
His addictions grew from there, leading to missing rehab, running out of chances with family and ending up living in campsites.
"Keeps the wind off you cause you're down in a hole," Justin said, pushing back some brushes and looking at a little wooded space by the interstate. "At first, this is kinda where I stayed to stay away from everyone else and feel safe. Eventually, I'm doing meth and heroin by use of IV. I would use the meth. I couldn't sleep, so I'd have to use the shot of fentanyl in order to calm down and go to sleep. I hit my rock bottom. When I hit that low, I thought, 'man, I gotta do something.' I started chasing sober life with the intensity I chased that meth and fentanyl every day."
After living without a home for about nine years, the course of Justin's life changed for the second time. He's now living in a halfway house and working a good job. Justin believes when you've lived through what he's lived through, you pay it forward to others.
"The main thing people need is love," he said. "That's someone's mother, father, son, brother."
Justin's just started collecting clothes, gloves, essentials, and more from anyone who will donate. In late October, he'll be going back to the places where he lived to hand those things out. He calls his effort Hoodies for Homeless.
"If I hadn't been through the things I've been through, I wouldn't be as motivated to go back and help people who are going through what I went through," Justin said. "It was a lot of pain caused, but I think it's going to turn out okay."
Justin largely credits turning his life around to the mentorship of Pastor Robbie Gallaty of Long Hollow Baptist Church
If you'd like to donate to Justin's cause, you can reach him at justinbiggs615@gmail.com.
