In Part 2 of his series "Coming Clean," NY1's Anthony Pascale speaks with a young man trying to kick the habit.

His story is typical of addicts caught in Staten Island's opioid crisis.

"My name's Joseph, I'm from Staten Island, and I'm here because I have a drug problem with heroin," says Joseph, a recovering addict.

Raised in a middle-class home on the South Shore, Joseph says he's been getting drunk or high for half his life.

Now 20, he says he got hooked on prescription painkillers after a bicycle accident. He took the pills throughout his years at Tottenville High School.

Joseph: I was doing my drugs in the middle of class. I had not the slightest care what anyone was thinking of me when I was.
Pascale: Do you think any of your teachers knew?
Joseph: I knew some of my teachers knew. I knew they knew.

Even when he was behind the wheel, he says he was using heroin.

Joseph: At the time, I was able to roll the bill, open the bag, sniff it, and do the whole process while I was driving.
Pascale: Did you realize at the time not only were you putting your life in danger, but everyone else on the road as well?
Joseph: No.
Pascale: You didn't care?
Joseph: No. As long as I was getting my fix, I didn't care about anybody else.

The number of deadly overdoses on Staten Island this year has already reached 81. That's the most since 2000, when the Department of Health started keeping comparable records.

Joseph nearly became a statistic, until he was brought back to life with the antidote Narcan.

Joseph: I had no feeling whatsoever. Not a care in the world. Nothing.
Pascale: You were dying.
Joseph: Yeah, it was complete darkness.

Joseph enrolled in this year-long program hoping to obtain the tools he needs to succeed outside these walls.

"In my opinion, one of the key elements, if not the main element to relapse, is low self-esteem. That is, you're back out into the world and you're not equipped," said Luke Nasta, executive director at Camelot.

For Joseph, and the many others who have gone through the program, the real test comes after walking out these doors. His life depends on it.

"I was not put here on this earth to shoot dope for the rest of my life," he said.