Hope Disappearing by Sherman Haggerty

Author:Sherman Haggerty [Haggerty, Sherman]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Human Services, Poverty & Homelessness, Social Classes & Economic Disparity
ISBN: 9781642280692
Google: 8oltzgEACAAJ
Publisher: Izzard Ink Publishing
Published: 2021-01-15T04:21:40+00:00

Meet Chris Mann (Staff)

I had intended to start these staff stories with Chris Mann for a couple of reasons. First, he has spent more time at Mather Community Campus as part of a service provider team than anyone. Second, he has worked in more positions hoping to improve the lives of homeless clients than anyone else there, and by default he has impacted the lives of more people than anyone I know. I can say that because Chris has dedicated his life to creating opportunities that very few others might see, let alone take on the challenge of implementing. And it was for a population with a lot of barriers in the way of their success.

Ultimately, Chris’s story was inserted here because of the remarkable connection that he shared with the first two clients in the next chapter. Those clients, through bizarre circumstances, connected with each other and with Chris to participate in a fascinating adventure. It included three people who overcame addiction, two of whom were homeless and had spent time in jail. Truly random events led them to reach beyond anything that would be considered likely for people struggling to get through a local homeless reintegration program. I hope we capture a little of the “awe” in telling their stories and sharing this connection.

Chris Mann took his first job, with Volunteers of America, right out of high school in 1986, working with the children of inmates in prison. At that time, he was trying to work his way through his own alcohol and drug addiction, so he left the position and went back to college. It took him 9 years to get through college while fighting his addictions, and he finally got sober for good in 1995. He actually started working in social services again in 1994, helping juvenile sex offenders at a recovery home. He worked in the home and in the schools. He left that job and got sober with help from AA, where he learned and developed some incredible tools. He had a friend at AA who took him under her wing and told him, “We’re going to go to meetings and conventions together, and you’re going learn how to shake hands and kiss babies” (like he was running for president or something). Chris’s main objective at the time was to avoid being alone. Through that process, even though he was very uneasy, he learned how to get comfortable with meeting new people and built some solid new habits. He had a sponsor who had him pick up cigarette butts and clean ashtrays at the meetings. He told his sponsor he didn’t smoke, but his sponsor told him this is not about you, it is about doing whatever it takes to say sober. So, he did whatever his sponsor suggested. These interactions continued to strengthen his sobriety.

In 1997, Chris’s mother mentioned that she had heard from a friend that VOA was hiring for a new program serving homeless people out at Mather Air Force Base. Chris applied for the job and was asked to come out for an interview.

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