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Twin brothers reunite to overcome addiction

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After a decade of distance, twin brothers have come together to battle one brother’s demons — and help others battle theirs.

Bobby and Chris Bailey, who grew up in Poway and graduated from Poway High School in 2000, had gone their separate ways, with only sporadic contact over the last ten years.

While Bobby had gone on to travel and co-found the organization Invisible Children and the New York firm Global Poverty Project, Chris slid into addiction and, eventually, homelessness.

“I was homeless, moving from Oceanside to Del Mar,” said Chris, who abused alcohol, Oxycodone and meth.

At rock-bottom, living on the streets with a head wound, Chris didn’t expect to be found by his estranged brother. “He found me randomly in a park in Escondido,” said Chris. “I was flooded with joy when I saw him.”

Bobby brought Chris to a motel, where they rode out Chris’s detox together. “I had a deep desire to find him, even though I was unqualified to help with his detox,” said Bobby. “What I could do was hold space for him, set up boundaries and help him find his calling.”

Chris said they rode out his detox for several days, then Chris went to Los Angeles for rehab for a month, followed by six months in sober living. “I was really finding myself,” he said. “Life was making more sense each day.”

Chris facilitated his sobriety by attending several AA meetings a day. It was during his daily walks to the meetings that he discovered what he wanted to do with his life, now that he had reclaimed it from drugs. “I found peace in my thoughts while walking to the meetings,” said Chris. “I replaced my old habit with a new one of fitness. I was walking 10 or 15 miles a day to meetings. Slowly, the space between my thoughts of drugs and alcohol was increasing. I consider (the walking) to be meditation.”

Chris said he thought, “what if I walk from Los Angeles to San Diego?” “When I walk, my mind kind of shuts off, and my true self comes out. Being in touch with my feelings is super empowering for me. It sounded right and felt right.”

Instead of simply walking to San Diego, Chris is now working on walking across America, something he anticipates will take more than five months.

The brothers are currently running an Indiegogo campaign to raise money not only to fund Chris’s walk across the country, but to develop curriculum videos to help communities deal with addiction. The campaign has been running for a little over two weeks, and has already raised $11,000, surpassing the original goal of $10,000. The brothers are now aiming for $15,000, to fund their videos as well as support Chris as he walks.

Chris, who has been walking for about two weeks, has extended his estimation for the length of time it will take him to walk across the country as he has stopped several times in towns to share his story and offer support. “I originally planned for five months, but I’ve been going through towns and meeting people, connecting and sharing my story and hearing theirs,” said Chris. “It’s inspiring to meet them because there’s so much love out here. It’s made the past two weeks so enjoyable, it has really motivated my recovery.”

To see Chris and Bobby Bailey’s Indiegogo campaign, visit www.indiegogo.com/projects/step-into-life-chris-bailey-walks-across-america.

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