Austin Eubanks: Difference between revisions

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==Early life and education==
  
==Early life and education==
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At age 17, Eubanks was in the library at [[Columbine High School]] on April 20, 1999, when [[Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold]] entered. Klebold shot him in his hand and knee. Eubanks' best friend, Corey DePooter, was killed in the massacre. DePooter was under the same table as Eubanks at the time and Eubanks experienced his death.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thefix.com/columbine-survivor-finally-opens-about-oxycontin|title=Columbine Survivor Austin Eubanks Opens Up About His Addiction After the Shooting|date=2016-05-09|website=The Fix|language=en|access-date=2019-05-19}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gulfshorelife.com/2019/03/18/columbine-survivor-austin-eubanks-speaking-in-naples/|title=Columbine Survivor Austin Eubanks Speaking in Naples|last=Reed|first=Jennifer|date=2019-03-18|website=Gulfshore Life|language=en-US|access-date=2019-05-19}}</ref> Harris and Klebold then left the library and cautiously fearing their return, Eubanks and other survivors fled the library through the emergency exit.<ref>http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2000/columbine.cd/Pages/LIBRARY_TEXT.htm</ref> Eubanks did not return to Columbine High School after the shooting and was instead privately tutored at home 3 days a week until he graduated in 2000.<ref name=":1" /> Within weeks of the shooting, Eubanks developed an opioid addiction that continued into his twenties.<ref name=":0" /> In 2006, Eubanks reconized that he had developed [[Drug tolerance|tolerance]] for prescription medications of [[OxyContin]], [[Adderall]], and [[Xanax]]. He then began using cocaine, ecstasy, and drinking.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=http://www.healthwellnesscolorado.com/mending-lives/|title=Mending Lives|last=Scott|first=Kris|date=2016-08-07|website=Health & Wellness Colorado|language=en-US|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=2019-05-21}}</ref> Starting in 2006, Eubanks entered [[residential treatment center]]s 3 times without success.<ref name=":3" />
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At age 17, Eubanks was in the library at [[Columbine High School]] on April 20, 1999, when [[Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold]] entered. Klebold shot him in his hand and knee. Eubanks' best friend, Corey DePooter, was killed in the massacre. DePooter was under the same table as Eubanks at the time and Eubanks experienced his death.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thefix.com/columbine-survivor-finally-opens-about-oxycontin|title=Columbine Survivor Austin Eubanks Opens Up About His Addiction After the Shooting|date=2016-05-09|website=The Fix|language=en|access-date=2019-05-19}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gulfshorelife.com/2019/03/18/columbine-survivor-austin-eubanks-speaking-in-naples/|title=Columbine Survivor Austin Eubanks Speaking in Naples|last=Reed|first=Jennifer|date=2019-03-18|website=Gulfshore Life|language=en-US|access-date=2019-05-19}}</ref> Harris and Klebold then left the library and cautiously fearing their return, Eubanks and other survivors fled the library through the emergency exit.<ref>http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2000/columbine.cd/Pages/LIBRARY_TEXT.htm</ref> Eubanks did not return to Columbine High School after the shooting and was instead privately tutored at home 3 days a week until he graduated in 2000.<ref name=":1" /> Within weeks of the shooting, Eubanks developed an opioid addiction that continued into his twenties.<ref name=":0" /> In 2006, Eubanks recognized that he had developed [[Drug tolerance|tolerance]] for prescription medications of [[OxyContin]], [[Adderall]], and [[Xanax]]. He then began using cocaine, ecstasy, and drinking.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=http://www.healthwellnesscolorado.com/mending-lives/|title=Mending Lives|last=Scott|first=Kris|date=2016-08-07|website=Health & Wellness Colorado|language=en-US|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=2019-05-21}}</ref> Starting in 2006, Eubanks entered [[residential treatment center]]s 3 times without success.<ref name=":3" />
   
 
== Career ==
  
== Career ==

Revision as of 18:27, 21 May 2019

Austin Eubanks
Austin profile.jpeg
Eubanks in 2010
Born
Stephen Austin Eubanks

1981/82
Denver, Colorado, U.S.
Diedc. May 18, 2019
Steamboat Springs, Colorado, U.S.
OccupationMotivational speaker
Known forInjured survivor of the Columbine High School massacre
Children2
Websiteaustineubanks.com

Stephen Austin Eubanks (1981/82 – c. May 18, 2019) was an American motivational speaker on drug addiction and recovery. He was a survivor of the Columbine High School massacre, in which his best friend, 17-year-old Corey DePooter, was killed and he was shot in his hand and knee. Eubanks struggled with opioid addiction after the shooting. Eubanks was the chief operations officer for the Foundry Treatment Center.

Early life and education

At age 17, Eubanks was in the library at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999, when Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold entered. Klebold shot him in his hand and knee. Eubanks' best friend, Corey DePooter, was killed in the massacre. DePooter was under the same table as Eubanks at the time and Eubanks experienced his death.[1][2] Harris and Klebold then left the library and cautiously fearing their return, Eubanks and other survivors fled the library through the emergency exit.[3] Eubanks did not return to Columbine High School after the shooting and was instead privately tutored at home 3 days a week until he graduated in 2000.[4] Within weeks of the shooting, Eubanks developed an opioid addiction that continued into his twenties.[5] In 2006, Eubanks recognized that he had developed tolerance for prescription medications of OxyContin, Adderall, and Xanax. He then began using cocaine, ecstasy, and drinking.[6] Starting in 2006, Eubanks entered residential treatment centers 3 times without success.[6]

Career

Eubanks accomplished longer-term sobriety at the age of 29[7] after experiencing rock bottom on April 2, 2011 when he woke up in jail without any memory of what took place.[6] Eubanks became a motivational public speaker.[5][8] From 2015 to 2019, he was the chief operations officer for the Foundry Treatment Center in Steamboat Springs.[9][10] He was a member of nonprofit boards and was the operations director of NorthStar Transitions in Boulder. Eubanks was the executive director of Quiet River Transitional Recovery Community in Denver.[11] On May 2, 2019, Eubanks spoke at the 2019 Connecticut Opioid and Prescription Drug Prevention Conference.[12]

Personal life

Eubanks married at the age of 25 but divorced four years later. He had two sons from his marriage. Eubanks was engaged to Alex Dooley.[4] On April 2, 2016, Eubanks celebrated 5 years of sobriety.[6] His body was found during a welfare check on May 18, 2019 at his residence in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. He was 37.[13] His family confirmed that he died of an overdose.[10]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Columbine Survivor Austin Eubanks Opens Up About His Addiction After the Shooting". The Fix. 2016-05-09. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
  2. ^ Reed, Jennifer (2019-03-18). "Columbine Survivor Austin Eubanks Speaking in Naples". Gulfshore Life. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
  3. ^ http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2000/columbine.cd/Pages/LIBRARY_TEXT.htm
  4. ^ a b Shenfeld, Hilary (May 12, 2016). "Columbine Shooting Survivor: 'The Shooting Derailed Me, I Became an Addict'". People. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
  5. ^ a b Vera, Amir (May 20, 2019). "Columbine survivor Austin Eubanks found dead at 37". CNN. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
  6. ^ a b c d Scott, Kris (2016-08-07). "Mending Lives". Health & Wellness Colorado. Retrieved 2019-05-21.
  7. ^ Larson, Jace; Contreras, Óscar (2019-05-18). "Columbine survivor found dead at his Steamboat Springs home". The Denver Channel. KMGH. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
  8. ^ Taylor, Britney (2019-01-04). "In-depth with Brad Byrd: Columbine survivor Austin Eubanks talks about journey to recovery". TriStateHomepage. WEHT. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
  9. ^ Howard, Jacqueline (February 23, 2018). "School shooting survivor: 'There's so many of us now'". CNN. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
  10. ^ a b "Austin Eubanks, Columbine Shooting Survivor and Public Speaker, Died of Apparent Overdose". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  11. ^ Hindi, Saja (2019-05-19). "Columbine survivor Austin Eubanks found dead at his home in Steamboat Springs, coroner confirms". The Denver Post. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
  12. ^ Altimari, Dave (May 20, 2019). "Columbine and addiction survivor Austin Eubanks made his last speech at a Connecticut opioid conference. He was found dead in Colorado last weekend". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 2019-05-21.
  13. ^ "Columbine shooting survivor found dead". 2019-05-19. Retrieved 2019-05-19.

External links

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