Where Changing Behavior
Begins with Working

People have often asked me, what is the source of your passion to help people who have hit bottom? Where did it come from? It started 15 years ago at my church, when I would cook and serve dinner once or twice a month for a group of people who were identified as ‘homeless.’  There were a few who were actually ‘living under the bridge’ or in cardboard boxes that are what most of us would characterize as homeless.  The majority, on the other hand, were “couch surfing” moving from one friend or family member to another until they wore out their stays and were asked to leave.  Alternatively,  they were moving from shelter to shelter that had maximum length of stay limitations.  What I discovered was this population were in many ways  just like the rest of us.

They had hopes and dreams.  They had friends.  They enjoyed good food and company. And yes, they often had significant unsolved problems that were severe. Some had spouses and children.  A few had college degrees and at one time, good jobs. But somewhere along the way they got sick, lost their job, committed a crime, or made some bad choices that started the long slow slide into substance abuse and eventually homelessness.  Many of these people touched my heart and I came to know them and embrace them I actually don’t remember who told me, but he or she said, “You’ve got to check out the Delancey Street Foundation.” And I did. It forever changed the direction of my life.

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I went to a three-day training at the San Francisco location of The Delancey Street Foundation where I had the opportunity to talk with at least fifty of their residents.  For three meals a day, I sat with 5-6 different people and heard their stories. “Hi, I’m Juan, I was one of the Crips.  I’m Carol, I was a prostitute.  I’m Bob, I was in prison for armed robbery and got an early release to come here.  I’m Joe, I was one of the Bloods.  I’m Barb, I was living in a tent under the Dumbarton bridge.”  People were anxious to tell their stories, share their burdens, or relay their hope.  Many had some version of a story that relayed they were surprised at what they found when arriving at Delancey Street. They thought they were coming to some crummy rehab.  “This place is unbelievable.  The food is great, the people are trying to help me. I said to myself, I’m never going to have a better chance. I gotta get serious about changing my life.”

I spent three days digging into their structure and understanding the Delancey model of recovery. It was truly amazing.  Every resident went to work full time after the 4-6 month ‘immigration phase.’  They embraced the philosophy of ‘each one-teach one’ where every person, no matter how much time they had at living at Delancey Street, were seen as having value.  The person who had been there for two weeks would walk the new guy through on their first day.  Those who had been there six  months would help guide those in the first few months, etc.  Everyone had value and each individual was encouraged to develop a measure  of self-reliance and self-worth. They learned life and job skills and how to engage in community where people were gaining  a measure of dignity for themselves.

Upon acceptance all the men got haircuts and were clean-shaven. The  women were required to remove all make up. Clothing was provided, and the first focus was to turn around street and/or gang images while developing new self-concepts.  The first few months of work were  focused on  maintenance jobs such as cleaning the facilities or cleaning up after meals. Residents were allowed to write immediate family members after 30 days, and make a call after 90 days; however, they were generally encouraged to spend their time and energy in the ‘integration  phase” getting to know those around them and becoming involved in their new environment.  Following that, letters, phone calls  and visits were earned along with responsibilities and rewards.

Eventually every person goes to work in one of the Delancey’ social enterprises. I found out that approximately 95% of their operational expenses were covered from the work of the residents in these social enterprises.  These people were actually funding their own recovery. As a business person, I loved the model of sustainability, not having to rely on gifts or government funding to pay for operational expenses or be at risk if funding dried up.   I came home full of ambition and hope and formed  a 501(c)3 and named it Working Together. We developed the philosophical underpinnings of ‘offering and hand up, not a hand out’ and ‘where changing behavior begins with working.’ We built a Board of Directors and signed an agreement to acquire a property.  Soon thereafter, my wife and I had a life-changing medical breakdown with our youngest son.  Everything was put on hold for over ten years.

During the last ten years, I came to understand something in my own journey in recovery from drugs and alcohol (that started 35 years ago).   I started to understand more about trauma and its connection to addiction.  Over the years, I had the opportunity to listen to thousands of stories of recovering addicts and alcoholics at meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous. A consistent theme emerged.  I came to believe that the origins of substance abuse were often directly related to some unrelated form of  trauma.  The thought emerged to add trauma-informed individual and group therapy to the Working Together model.  I believe it is one thing to develop self-esteem, to learn life and job skills, and to become a self-sustaining productive member of society. It is another to deal with the deep pit of one’s soul that is connected to trauma, and specifically the childhood trauma of physical and sexual abuse at the hands of a primary caretaker.

In 2017, I entered the doctoral program at Eastern University outside Philadelphia. I have completed all the course work, and after completing my doctoral dissertation, I anticipate graduating  with a doctoral degree in Marriage and Family Therapy (with an emphasis on trauma) in late 2025.

Three years ago, a good friend relayed that the Fellowship Farm property in Pottstown, PA was for sale.  I had seen the property and was familiar with the nonprofit and its’ rich history of racial and social justice, experiential learning, and learning in action. The property featured a ropes challenge course in the woods, two beautiful country stone houses, an office, and a dining hall that could seat 150 people that included a commercial kitchen.  Situated on a beautiful wooded 120-acre parcel, it was remote and perfect for our needs. Eventually, we acquired the property  and began restoring it in  2021, as it had been lying fallow and unoccupied for ten years. We anticipate opening with our first 22 students in the second quarter of 2024.