By James Taylor
 

Imagine this. You’re on the street. No home to go to. No parents to depend on.

Then you meet someone who says he can help. All you have to do is sell some drugs.

Would you do it?

Meet Andre. He’s 16, a junior in Newark, N.J., who started selling drugs when he was 14.

Like a lot of street kids, Andre was scooped up by an older guy -- a drug dealer who knew how to prey on kids like Andre. He offered Andre a job. With the job came an apartment, food, no more nights sleeping in the park.

Andre felt he had no other choice.

Afraid Of Dying

The first time he did a drug deal, he was afraid -- afraid of getting caught, afraid of being in a world where the only thing that matters is money. But, before long, he got used to standing on the corner, selling heroin. He sold at least two bricks a day.  Street cost: $1,000.

Andre was living it up -- driving expensive cars and doing whatever suited him. He didn’t care about anyone but himself, he says. But it all came with a cost. He saw other dealers shot by people who were supposed to be their friends.  He lived in fear, always worrying that he would be next. He knew he couldn’t trust anyone. He worried about making the slightest mistake. Selling drugs in someone else’s territory could get you killed. There were times when he thought he was going to die.

Saved

He thanks God that the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Service came to save him from the grip of the streets. Somebody -- Andre still doesn’t know who -- called the state agency that helps abused and neglected children and reported that he was living on his own and not attending school. (Every state has a similar agency).

The division found Andre a place to live in a group home and helped him get back into school. He thinks back and realizes how lucky he is to still be alive. "Dealing drugs is a road that seems like one of no return,’’ says Andre. "But there are people out there who will help. All you have to do is reach out and ask for it."