Father reveals how trust in ‘system’ gave new chance at life
RIVERSIDE COUNTY – At age eight, Steven Baker, now 49, recalled being introduced to marijuana to calm him down. At 11, he tried methamphetamines. And at 15, he was incarcerated for the first time. Baker’s exposure to delinquency, illicit drug use and alcohol dependency started at home and led to substance abuse in his teens.“I became addicted to anything that would take away the pain and trauma of my childhood,” Baker said during a recent episode of “theServiceStation,” a podcast presented by the county’s Department of Public Social Services.Baker is one of more than 20 million Americans who struggle with a substance abuse disorder. Since 2011, October has been recognized as National Substance Abuse Prevention Month in the United States. Baker’s story is a reminder