EL CAJON, Calif. (KGTV) – Skyler Phillips is a man with a story to tell.
“I grew up in kind of a rough environment. My dad had his own addiction as well,” Phillips said.
A story that he hopes can open a better door for others.
“When I was 23, 24, I got in a really bad accident at the desert. I broke my tibia, my fibula, I fractured my femur, I tore my LCL, my ACL, my meniscus, and I severed my peroneal nerve,” Phillips said. “So, I was told by the doctor that I would probably never walk again, at least not unassisted.”
Skyler had surgery, and his body recovered, and then things took a dark turn.
“In that process, I became very addicted to my painkillers,” Phillips said. “I just started eating them like they were candy, and that turned into a full-blown opiate addiction.”
An addiction left him jobless and homeless.
“Living in my car while still dealing with this knee injury. And then I started using fentanyl because it was cheaper and more accessible on the streets,” Phillips said. “The path I was on only led to death. I probably would not be alive.”
Many others did continue on that path. San Diego County’s Substance Use and Overdose Prevention Task Force's latest report shows there were nearly 950 overdose deaths in the County, with more than half being tied to fentanyl.
“I can very confidently say that if I didn't come here and my family did not intervene, you would not be standing there filming me today,” Phillips said.
That family intervention led Skyler to the East County Transitional Living Center and it’s one-year men’s recovery program.
“In the process of doing the whole year, I found myself; I found God. I was able to. Accept everything that I went through, and now being hired as a full-time staff, I'm able to use my testimony of what I went through to help others,” Phillips said.
Skyler’s now a resource manager, outreach director, and IT specialist for the Center.
“He was able to turn it around and not just barely make it but thrive, and he's an amazing human being with all his skills, you know, showing here,” Dr. Julie Hayden, CEO of East County Transitional Living Center, said.
The County’s report does show a year-to-year decrease in overdose deaths and those tied to fentanyl.
Still, both Skyler and Hayden told ABC 10News the need for these types of places is dire.
“The moment they need it, there has to be a place they can go to. So if they've got to go to a waiting list, it might be that they end up overdosing, that’s too late,” Hayden said.
“One step at a time, one family at a time, one individual at a time, we are changing San Diego and changing California for the better and trying to genuinely fix this crisis that we have that's going on right now,” Phillips said.
