I
was born in St. Vincent in the West Indes. I came to the US in 1974 when I
was 18 years old. My mother was living here at the time. She sent for my sister
and me and I came because I wanted to further my schooling. In 1976 I graduated
from high school and started attending Federal City College, now called the
University of the District of Columbia. I went to college for about a year-and-a-half
and then stopped going to school to take a job.
I was into drugs at the time, selling and smoking marijuana, which I had started when I was living in St. Vincent. When I came to the US my friends were smoking it and it was more affordable, so it started to be a problem. Then I left work and went to Brooklyn, New York to live where I had some family and an old girlfriend. I got a job working at an Auto Parts store as a cashier, stocking shelves, etc. There a friend introduced me to cocaine. I started selling it for him and I noticed the kind of money he was getting, so I got my own practice and started to sell.
Another friend showed me how to cook the cocaine to make rocks. That was the
end. It was so dangerous! I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. It got
to the point that I couldn’t sell it anymore because I had to use it
myself. There were months that I wouldn’t pay rent and instead used
the money for drugs. I started asking for money. I knew it wasn’t the
life I wanted, but in my addiction I felt I had to have it.
I came back to D.C. and continued using drugs for a long time after that,
until about 3 to 3 ½ years ago. I was going to buy some drugs one night
and got stabbed so I had to go to the hospital. I thought, “This might
be my last chance.” I had a week in the hospital to think about it.
I told the people in the hospital, “I’m not leaving here. You
need to get me in a program or something.” People at the hospital told
me about Christ House. I spent three months at Christ House. After 3 months
I told them, “I’m not leaving here either.” I needed something
more intensive, so they recommended SOME. I went to “The Mountain,”
SOME’s rehab program.
When I came back, I was in a transition house with SOME where they told me
about Jubilee Jobs. At first I was doubtful about people being able to help
me. When I was on the streets nobody seemed to care. I thought, “They’re
going to give me a job washing dishes for the rest of my life,” and
I didn’t want that. I didn’t know where I was going to work or
how the employer was going to talk to me, but I didn’t want to go back
to the streets so I went.
Everyone here was nice. They were God-fearing, they weren’t nasty. I
felt a different sense of love here. My first job through Jubilee Jobs was
at Fuddruckers. I started as a dishwasher making $7.50 an hour. I worked that
for about five to six months and then moved up to line cook making $8.25.
I was a line cook for about a year-and-a-half. That’s when I heard about
the Move-Up Program. I applied and met with Ms. (Carolyn) Johnson. The Move-Up
process was a learning experience! I was about to leave Fuddruckers for another
job, but Ms. Johnson told me to hang on. She said, “You need to tell
that next employer that you’ve worked that job for a long time. And
think about the skills you’re learning about how to deal with people.
Think about how you are developing.” So I hung on. I went to Job Friends
meetings. A week after I went to my second meeting I applied for a job at
Renaissance Hotel as a bellman and I got the job. It went very quickly. Now
I’m making $6.50 an hour plus tips, so I average maybe $13-14/ hour.
What are your responsibilities at work?
I welcome people to the hotel, direct them where they need to go and help
them take their bags to their room; if they want to change their room, I help
them; I take their luggage back downstairs when they are checking out. I have
to secure people’s bags. Sometimes it’s very valuable things:
jewelry or computers. I have keys to all the rooms, so they trust me and I
am responsible with that trust. Sometimes if I see something that’s
not my job but it needs to be done, I’ll do it. If I see water that
is spilled and no one has cleaned it up, I clean it up even though it’s
not my job.
What do you like about your job?
I like my job. I love to meet people! They come from all walks of life, all
kinds of personalities, different countries. I am prepared for however someone
approaches me because I stayed at Fuddruckers, just like Ms. Johnson told
me.
What is most challenging about your job?
Working with my co-workers, because they can mess it up for everybody. They
don’t have a lot of training in how to treat people and how to respond
to people. I have to do a lot of work that they wouldn’t do to cover
for them.
What motivates you to keep going when you don’t feel like going
to work?
I have a responsibility to be there! I will never give them a reason to think
that I won’t show up. I want them to trust me at all times. I’ve
never taken off. When I think about the tips, that helps a little, too. I
don’t care what it is, nothing is keeping me back.
How has your Job Counselor helped you?
I don’t know where to start. The whole staff here is wonderful. Ms.
Johnson is a very warm person and she enlightens you. She is concerned. She
follows up and checks on me if I don’t check in. She is caring, loving
person. She would give me advice, but she would involve me in the advice.
She didn’t just tell me what to do, she helped me participate in the
process. She respected me and I respect her back.
What advice would you have for new applicants at Jubilee Jobs?
Take whatever job you get first, and stick with the first job you have, because
it might not seem like anything great at the time but you need the experience
to get back into the job force. You have to work your way up. It might seem
like a task at first, but it will benefit you. Stick with it. It will give
you some discipline. Also, be honest with the counselors. If you don’t
tell the truth, it will only hurt you.
What goals do you have for the future?
The next thing for me is owning my own home. My aunt is offering to put me
on the deed to her home, then I would take over payments of her home and it
would become mine. I would like to go back to school to finish my accounting
degree in college. The hotel said they would help me pay for it if I was interested.
I really want to do something that’s going to be helpful to people
