Liliana is 23. The first time she overdosed, she loved it. The last time, she was dead for 10 minutes. Now she sleeps with 30+ strangers a day on the streets of Kensington for $600, and every dollar is gone by morning.
She's from Asbury, New Jersey. Addiction runs in her family. Her brother overdosed. She started with alcohol, went to rehab, and that's where she found out about dope.
"I liked it better."
The interviewer asks how she got hooked. She doesn't blink: "First time I OD'd, I loved it. I like that sleeping effect. It brings comfort."
She's been on fentanyl for 6 years. She's been working the corners for only a few weeks.
In the video below she walks you through a normal day like it's a grocery list. "I don't sleep. I don't eat. I get up. I go, like, basically prostitute myself for money. Then I come back. I cop. And I just do the same thing over and over and over again."
How many men a day? "I don't even f*cking know. Maybe like over 30, depending the day."
Who are they? "Old men that are like lonely."
Does she like it? "No. But it's quick money."
Where does the $600 go? "Spending on drugs. All of it." 10 to 15 bags a day.
Here's the part that gets you. She was clean for 7 months. She went back. Why? "Boredom and loneliness."
Ask her for the craziest thing she's seen out here and she describes a woman with no arms and no feet shooting up in her mouth.
Ask her if she wants to get clean. "No. But I need to."
Ask her if she's afraid to die. "No."
Ask her where she'll be in 6 months. "Either sober or dead. Because if I'm still getting high in six months, I don't want to be alive."
Her family calls all the time trying to get her out. Her three wishes: get sober, a stable life, talk to her family again. Her dream job? Run a rehab.
Some people will watch this and say she chose every single step. Others will say nobody chooses to come back from being dead for 10 minutes and miss it.
She's 23. She's already been dead once. She told the camera she's got 6 months to decide if she stays alive.
Do you think Liliana makes it out of Kensington, or is this the last video of her anyone will ever see?