Both of Joshua Clark’s parents were heroin addicts, one of whom eventually died due to complications from HIV, while the other successfully entered rehab when Josh was 12 years old. When he was 9 years old he was separated from his four siblings and sent to a foster home. Sitting in an outdoor patio at a coffee shop in Boston’s South End during an interview for a story in the Volunteers of America Annual Report, Josh calmly talks about his life. “It’s no wonder that I started to use drugs and alcohol at an early age,” said Josh of his addiction. “I began binge drinking at 13, and it led to me being sent to a boy’s residential program from when I was 15 until I aged-out at 18. They put me right in the middle of a bunch of kids just like me, probably one of the worst things that could have happened to me.”