[Saxophone begins playing] [Gregory Rogers] I am Gregory Rogers from Baltimore, local guy, and I'm a recovering addict who got opportunities to change his life. Just grateful. Thank you. [Saxophone music fades] I'm Gregory Rogers. We're at Health Care for the Homeless in Baltimore, Maryland, a full-service medical clinic for the homeless. I've been a community health worker here for four years now. Before I worked at a homeless shelter called Code Blue that's part of Catholic Charities, it's a men and women's shelter, but I basically worked with the men. Lee Martin, Caldwell High school classmate, gave me a job when I was getting clean. Called him one day and said, "Can I volunteer?" He said, "No, come down and interview for a job." I didn't really know all the details. I just saw all these Black men out back walking around like zombies. The guy said, "What do you mean you had some problems? We don't have a lot of time for BS here. Tell us what it is." I said, "I walked out of professional football and smoked crack for 35 years." They said, "Okay, look out that window. You think you be able to work with these men out back?" I said, "Absolutely." That started my journey working in social services with the homeless population. I was trying to get clean. I might've had 90 days when I took the job. To go from a person in recovery who relapsed so many times and working in an environment with nothing but triggers was really [inaudible]. I wouldn't recommend it for someone else. This was different because of my lived experiences and I became successful at it because I spoke their language. One evening I was talking to someone with my back turned and a gentleman rubbed up behind me sexually. I turned around and choked him. It was ugly. They brought me in the next day and said, "I got to see somebody because that's not a normal reaction for the level of what he did to me." Started seeing a therapist and it came out that I was molested as a kid. That event triggered the trauma. I met this lady named Rachel. She was a beautiful sister but wouldn't bother me because she knew I wasn't right. I told a good friend, Vincent, one day I was going to marry Rachel. He was like "Greg, stop. She still ain't messing with you." On April 28th, 2007, my father died and I felt like I was all alone. The night I went on a binge, my mother had to take me to the hospital and this Black doctor comes in and he said, "We're ready to rush you into surgery. We can't guarantee that you going to make it. Is there anybody you want to call," and I had nobody to call. I survived the surgery and Rachel picked me up and moved me to her place. I got clean finally for the first time in my life, asked Rachel to marry me, and I went back to school and all these wonderful things started to happen. I became popular at Narcotics Anonymous, I got the job at the shelter and we had all these wedding plans. On June 6th, 2015, we had this beautiful wedding in this old building in Mount Vernon. Then I relapsed after being at a conference all day where something triggered me. In 2018, I got back to work at Health Care for the Homeless. Here, they treated me with respect. Even when I relapsed, they said, "Come back to work." They trust me and that's the kind of trust clients need to have in me, and that's why we need CHWs. I met one guy at the shelter who was an atheist. I said, "You need treatment," but he didn't listen to me. A year later, he says, "I want to go to treatment." I sent him to treatment and start seeing him at NA meetings in the morning. He would come and see me and he was doing well. I told him, "You don't have to believe in God. Believe in the process of the meetings and the people." A year later, he comes to me and says, "I just want to thank you. You helped me have faith in people again. I don't know what's out there in the universe, but I believe that you were sent here to help me." You see this guy behind the shelter and you think he just smokes crack or shoots dope. Nah, this guy was an IT professional who lost his way with depression and substance abuse. One time Dr. Binder called me about a lady going to treatment who needed clothes. We had to go to Pulaski in Baltimore, which is in the hole. I pull up, she has to go around back. I said to the young boys on the corner that I was from Health Care for the Homeless. I had to ask permission. She was going where the stash is. CHWs put their lives on the line when they go to places like that. Doctors don't understand. They don't see. I take her to treatment, tell Dr. Binder that can never happen again. Dr. Binder apologized and said it wouldn't. The lady's been clean for two years now and some days. What I realized was that my recovery is important because not only did I have my family, but also I have people that I care for every day, just couldn't walk away from them. I went to treatment and did the right thing for the first time in my life. I developed relationships with all these wonderful recovering people. Everybody at the treatment center's recovering. It's not one of those places you go and they're not recovering. They know the process because they had the same opportunity that I had to change. Now I'm doing the work and I'm getting these different cases. Anytime there's something difficult, they call me. Where I'm at now, I'm calling it claiming my freedom.