, DeLeon founded the organization in 2007, after being released from prison for a\u00a0gang-related homicide. A former addict, DeLeon created Steered Straight\u00a0to “carry an important message to youth on the extreme dangers of drugs, gang involvement and associated criminal activity.”<\/span><\/p>\n“Steered Straight’s program reaches out to children, teens and young adults with a message of reality about life choices and the importance of consequential thinking so they understand that there are consequences to their actions,” the website reads. “The reality of the message comes from Michael himself, who was entwined in the life of drugs and traveled a troubled road to get to his future.”<\/span><\/p>\n“This is my 17th year since coming out of prison [and] 22 years free from drug and alcohol. I wanted to help other people ’cause I can’t reach every kid in America and I want to find authentic people with incredible stories,”\u00a0DeLeon explains. “…People who are being hurt or put down try to seek out refuge [and] escape through a substance. Fentanyl is just destroying people’s lives, it’s plaguing our country and we have to do more. Education is key and [the organization] developed educational curriculums for families, so when we go to the schools we implement this in-depth [programming] to save kids, to save families. It takes a village, you know?”<\/span><\/p>\nDeLeon shares that he and Navarone connected through Priscilla, who received an award from Steered Straight for “all her selfless work [and] her advocacy.”<\/span><\/p>\n“Navarone was there and he said, ‘I want to do what you do, I want to go talk to kids in schools,'” DeLeon recalls. He shares that the two stayed in contact for almost a year before the musician officially teamed up with the organization to spread the word of its programming. “Now he’s going out on the road with me, impacting kids like you’ve never seen. It’s incredible,” DeLeon adds. “He’s so engaging, turning his pain into purpose, taking his story and using it as a cautionary tale, an educational tale for young people.”<\/span><\/p>\nWhen it comes to his road to sobriety,\u00a0Navarone says he reached his breaking point in 2020. “It just got to the point where I was doing nothing. I knew it wasn’t going any further and there was only one outcome if I continued going down that road,” he confesses. “I could feel myself getting closer to the edge of not coming back.”<\/span><\/p>\nHis mother’s support was pivotal to his sobriety.<\/span><\/p>\n“She’s been there for the beginning [and] end, and I always [tried] to keep it from her ’cause it’s hard to see somebody not only struggling but also when [they’re] trying to stop, it’s not easy to watch. I think that’s the hardest part to watch when they’re trying so hard and struggling to stop. So I would try to keep it from her,” Navarone shares. “But after a week of withdrawals alone, I said, ‘Mom, I’m a week into it but I got to come to your house and I’m going to be there for another two weeks,’ and she said, ‘OK, you need some soup?'”<\/span><\/p>\n“I would need help crawling to the bathroom… she would be assisting,” he adds. “She was amazing the whole way.”<\/span><\/p>\nPriscilla Presley and Navarone Garcia at a special screening of ‘Priscilla’ in October 2023.<\/span> – Eric Charbonneau\/Getty Images for A24<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nBut while his mother’s support aided him through his recovery from\u00a0fentanyl addiction, Navarone emphasized the importance of his decision to get clean for himself rather than anyone else.<\/span><\/p>\n“I had to do it for myself. As much as she wanted it and as much as she asked and tried… I would like to say that I tried to [quit for her] but it had to be my own decision,” he states.<\/span><\/p>\nDeLeon agrees, adding that “it’s about being clean for yourself because if you can’t do it for yourself you’re not gonna do it for anybody else.”<\/span><\/p>\nNavarone has also found solace in working with\u00a0his Santa Cruz-formed, synth rock band,\u00a0<\/span>Them Guns<\/a>, which has new music dropping later this year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n“I was in the midst of [my addiction recovery] when I wrote a lot of [the new music] and going through a lot,” he shares with ET about the band’s upcoming releases. “We’ve been waiting to put this out for about a year and now I think we’re ready to tour with it.”<\/span><\/p>\nThem Guns’ first album was 2017’s\u00a0<\/span>From the Shadows\u00a0<\/span><\/em>and the band is releasing its follow-up,\u00a0<\/span>Dark Horizon<\/span><\/em>, this year.<\/span><\/p>\nWhen asked to describe the band’s sound, Navarone quips, “One\u00a0that’s been given would be ‘Muse with balls,'” citing influences like Depeche Mode and Nine Inch Nails.<\/span><\/p>\nAnd yes, Priscilla is a fan.\u00a0“She likes it. You know she’s used to the best so…” Navarone says when asked if his mother has heard his music.<\/span><\/p>\nThe group is planning a tour for this fall, but for now, Navarone says he’s enjoying his time using his real-life experience to help educate kids about the dangers of substance abuse.<\/span><\/p>\n“The response from the students that we’ve had has been so strong,” he shares. “They contact me afterwards — a lot of them are going through a lot. A lot of them are musicians, they send me some of the lyrics or they send me some of the music they’ve made. I try to support them and respond to all of that as well.”<\/span><\/p>\nThe musician also shares that he’s working on publishing a memoir that chronicles his journey beyond addiction. “This world is just getting crazier and people really need to just be there for each other,” he says when asked what he wants to share with readers. “I see so many people that try to bring other people down and I think we all need to bring each other together again.”<\/span><\/p>\n“It feels so much better for yourself to make other people feel better, I don’t see why so many people are trying to bring other people down,” he adds. “I’d like to get more people to support other people as well.”<\/span><\/p>\nRELATED CONTENT:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n