When IHOC interviewed me for

the job,

they interviewed me in a

really nice facility in Cherry

Hill.

They told me all these

wonderful things about the

program and I was excited.

Coming into Camden,

people were walking up,

and they were passing drugs.

It was just really scary.

And I sat in my car when I

pulled up in front of the

building and cried for about

15 minutes.

I felt almost like I had been

deceived.

Like they just threw me to the

wolves.

Camden City has always had a

reputation for being

impoverished.

They come from Newark,

they come from Trenton,

Philadelphia.

They come from everywhere.

Camden has become the dumping

ground.

And this is how people

survive.

This your bed here, Bill?

I've been with the

organization now 18 years.

My job is to assist men that

are homeless and are willing

to you know,

make some changes in their

life.

Dave,

we are waiting on you so can

you just hurry up so we can

get settle?

Whose stuff is this?

We give them a place to stay.

We provide drug and alcohol

counseling.

We have classes.

We teach life skills.

So help comes in a variety of

ways.

Miles!

Miles used to be in the

program.

I thought for a minute you

didn't recognize me.

Well, yeah I did.

Okay.

Um, I gotta get your number.

I think that not wanting to

deal with some of their

personal issues plays a role

in why they stay homeless.

For some of them they are

homeless because they don't

like rules.

And when they are on the

street, there are no rules.

They are their rules.

Alright,

well you gotta stay in contact

with me.

Absolutely,

Absolutely Ms. Sonya!

Okay.

Absolutely.

Thank you so very much.

And God bless.

Okay alright take care of

yourself.

He is clearly using.

He's a bean pole.

He has lost so much weight For

the first three years,

I cried a lot.

I got sucked into the stories

and the reality is that I can

only be a very small part of

their recovery.

I know something's wrong with

your stomach.

Something's wrong.

Big time.

Mhmm.

He is living in an abandoned

building.

He has that growth in his

stomach.

The doctor's office couldn't

reach him because he didn't

have minutes on this phone.

And he really needs to go into

the hospital and have

something done.

I've got to see my family.

Visit my little brother who's

dying of cancer,

and I'm fighting cancer too.

I have three bus tickets.

Is that good?

That's good.

I need all three of them.

Okay.

Sometimes they become so

attached to me that I become

their everything.

If they stub their toe,

they call me.

If they get out and they are

looking for a job and they

become frustrated,

they call me.I can't be

everything to everybody all

the time.

Two chocolate chip.

I have a bakery that I've

owned for the past 11 years.

I normally come here in the

mornings before IHOC and then

I leave here about 9:30 and go

to the office.

I am still a problem solver

here because I am always

making sure that everybody is

happy.

But it's different because

it's kinda relaxing.

Thanks a lot.

And enjoy your cookies.

Between IHOC,

the bakery and family,

all of my time is filled up.

I have always had tough love.

That's the way I started

treating them.

As we go along, like I said,

we will continue to have these

conversations.

I'll be sitting down with you

individually and really

pressing you to start making

some real definitive

decisions.

I honestly believe this is my

calling.

This is what I was meant to be

doing.

Sonya is trying to help me.

She woke me up.

Everybody's trying to see the

change in me.

Well she helped me 100%,

with my clarity of being a

sober person.

Sometimes they need more than

one go around.

Sometimes it takes bump your

head, scrape up your knee,

and get up and brush yourself

off.

They need a second chance.

And I still have clients to

this day that relapse and some

are back on the streets and I

am still their cheerleader.