(soft music) - Of course, growing up, America was the goal, you know, Disneyland, all of these wonderful things that I saw on TV and in films.

I was from Belfast, Northern Ireland during The Troubles.

And that is why I came to America from a conflict resolution visa because of my work in conflict resolution back in the days.

- [Liz Adeola] A time when violence and cruelty plagued Brian Higgins formative years.

Even after physically escaping the battles at home, Brian says, "A mental battle reared its ugly head."

- It led me to, you know, lose everything, lose my family, and my friends, my job, my house, you know, and I just had no other option but to live on the streets.

- [Liz Adeola] Brian says he tried different resources and searched for relief for about two decades, but nothing stuck.

He found himself relying more and more on drugs and alcohol to drown out his inner turmoil.

- I was struggling so intensely with my mental health issues and my addiction that I couldn't really see the light at the end of the tunnel.

- [Liz Adeola] He spent about 18 months homeless as a result.

- From the self-stigma, you learn to believe that you're not worth it, you know.

You don't fit into society, you don't have a community around, so the only option for you is to continue to fall down and continue the road because there's no self-esteem and you just feel worthless.

And a lot of people in that realm, when you are approached by somebody experiencing homelessness on the streets, you can be very hesitant.

Straightaway you're already saying no.

No, I don't have any money for you.

And that might not be what they're asking.

Most times they're just asking for help.

- [Liz Adeola] Something that's not as easy as it sounds.

- The two hardest questions are, I don't know when I need help.

We as a community have to know how to answer those questions.

- [Liz Adeola] Brian felt lucky to be paired with the right people at the right time.

- There was waiting lists, there was forms to fill in.

There was a lot of process that I had to do, but at this stage, I had just lost all humanity within myself.

And there was really nowhere to go but up.

- [Liz Adeola] Another journey that is not as easy, or linear as it may sound.

- I relapsed over and over and over, fell back, but by that stage people were around me, and people knew who I was, and people were there for me, you know, to pick me up, and helped me move forward.

And same old cliche, you know, that's what I'm trying to do for others.

- [Liz Adeola] Volunteering with emergency services, then becoming the creative director of Mental Healthy F.i.T.

a nonprofit organization that uses creativity to teach people about mental health issues and acceptance.

- We want to listen to people and understand that it's their experience.

And even though it's not our experience, be empathetic to realize, hey, that must be a difficult situation for you.

And then we can agree upon that because, again, we're trying to help the other person and then partner together to move forward.

And that does not work if we shun, or shame, or create stigma.

Where I am today compared to where I was, is leaps and bounds ahead of where my mindset was of where I thought I would be.

And I'm certainly not a millionaire, or a billionaire, or anything, you know, I'm a thousandaire maybe.

(chuckles) But, you know, I can pay my bills.

I can go to bed sober, I can wake up sober, and every day's a brand new day.

And that's where the dream is.

Of course, the dream does turn into a nightmare sometimes, but I know that it's not gonna last.