By Molly Balison
Scottie Culley parked his electric bike on a bench by the Boise River and swapped his helmet, with its attached GoPro, for a camo cap fitted with a microphone. He propped his smartphone against a blue raspberry Gatorade bottle, logged into YouTube, and hit “Go Live.”
“Instead of being an addict and struggling with depression, I’m impacting people. And if people leave my channel having a better day and feel like they have someone who will listen to them, that’s what I’m here for,” he said on YouTube LIVE.
For the next hour, he talked about how he was born with a disability, became addicted to drugs, got sober, and now lives in a homeless shelter.
People tend to recognize Scottie by his wobbly walk. He was born with Spina Bifida, a birth defect that prevents the spinal cord from developing properly. The first weeks of his life were filled with surgeries to help him walk and manage his condition. Doctors told his parents that he wouldn’t live past 21 years old, like most people with Spina Bifida. But here he is at 33 years old to tell his story.
He never knew what it was like to run from point A to point B or walk without pain. However, his parents were determined to not let Scottie’s disability get in the way of enjoying things that other kids did, even if bullies ridiculed him for a condition he had no control over. It made Scottie angry when he wondered why he was dealt an unfortunate hand from the time he was born. Unanswered questions swarmed his mind, ridiculing his self-worth.
“I had maybe two friends growing up, and they were also outsiders that people didn’t want to hang out with. So that’s a lot of what contributed to my anger and what brought me deep into the struggle,” he said. “I spent so much time feeling not good enough, feeling like I didn’t belong anywhere.”
When Scottie’s older brother began to grasp the pain his middle school-aged brother endured every day, he offered Scottie pain pills to help him get through the day. The pain pills not only numbed Scottie’s physical pain, but his mental and emotional pain, too. The drugs quickly became essential to his daily life. They became his escape from the time he was 13 years old until he was 21 years old, when his cravings escalated to meth.
He felt lost and empty, chasing temporary highs, hanging out with a crowd that encouraged his addiction. Scottie realized he fell deeper into a dangerous lifestyle when his and his brother’s became a hub for drug use. “Nobody cared about the way that I walked,” he said. “They just cared that I was doing drugs with them.”
His health declined severely, to the point where his doctor asked him, “You will either lose your leg or lose your life.” Scottie continued using drugs even after getting his leg amputated and adjusting to a prosthetic. It wasn’t until he realized how scared his family was for his life that he knew he had to make a change.
He attempted to live in a sober living house, but his disability prevented him from getting across the street to his required classes. So he was kicked out, without anywhere to go. He heard about a homeless shelter that accepts everyone and made his way to Interfaith Sanctuary.
In his first two days there, he met Skip, a friendly, welcoming, light-hearted senior. Skip recognized his new friend’s positive qualities and took him under his wing. “He’s in this place because of circumstances. He’s a hard worker and he’s determined.”
Despite being almost 30 years older, Skip is inspired by Scottie’s determination to overcome and heal, while Scottie admires Skip’s friendship, which carries him through challenging days. “I’ve got more love for him than anybody,” Scottie said about Skip, “He’s my best friend.”
Skip told Scottie about Project Recovery, Interfaith’s on-site recovery program designed to give people the tools to live a healthy and sober life through daily group meetings and mental health education. Scottie joined the program, but braced himself for getting kicked out when he lapsed. Instead, Director of Project Recovery, Terrence Sharrer, gave Scottie a second chance.
“Why give me a chance? I’m a loser,” Scottie asked him.
“You’re not a loser. You’re struggling. “ Terrence said.
Scottie was told to be honest when he failed, so he could receive help to be successful the next time he was tempted to lapse. That grace changed everything for Scottie. His determination to change, coupled with accountability and encouragement from Project Recovery, led him to a life of sobriety for two years and counting.
Scottie was fortunate to have a family that cared for him despite his poor choices. “After everything that I’ve done, I don’t believe that I deserve a mom like that because she’s like a one-in-a-million mom,” he said.
His mom’s forgiveness impacted Scottie’s life in a way he never expected. Because someone didn’t give up on him, he always had someone to call. So Scottie wants to be that for other people who have no one to call.
His YouTube channel, @adventuresofScottie, exists “to create a community of people who can reach out to me when they need, but can also reach out to and have conversations with each other. It’s building a community of people who go through struggles and need a safe place,” he said. With 1.34K subscribers and over 300,000 views, Scottie’s storytelling is reaching a wide audience of people engaged in the community he’s building. All because he had the courage to take the first step to change.