School Speaker Talks About Life as Addict

When Lonnie Bushey was 6, he started drinking with his father, who told him it would put hair on his chest and make him a man.

For most of the next 17 years, Bushey was a substance abuser, spending many nights on the streets and in jail cells, living each day searching for fix after fix.

For the last 11 years, the now-recovering addict has been relating his tale to audiences nationwide, never telling kids not to do drugs, but rather to be aware of the consequences and to make responsible choices. On Thursday, Bushey will speak to students at several Valley schools and to parents at a special adults-only, evening session at Millikan Middle School.

“My talk is about being responsible for your own actions,” said Bushey, who was born in Fullerton before moving as a child to Indiana. “I’m rigorously honest. I know kids can’t stand it when someone comes in and points fingers saying, ‘Don’t do this and don’t do that.’ I know whenever someone told me to don’t, the only part I heard was the first two letters.

“I never tell these kids to don’t do anything. I simply tell them what happened to me after I made some of my choices.”

For that reason Bushey has become a popular draw in schools across the country, speaking to about 20,000 students a month.

On Thursday, he will bring his one-hour program to Madison Middle School in North Hollywood, Van Nuys Middle School in Van Nuys and Millikan in Sherman Oaks.

At the adults-only session, Bushey urges parents to take more responsibility for their children.

The night session, which is free and open to the public, begins at 7 p.m. at Millikan, 5041 Sunnyslope Ave., Sherman Oaks. For more information, call (818) 788-5020.