"The people I taught, I run into them later and they’re happy. They’re self-sufficient.
They can pay income tax.
They’re part of society. It just feels good."

I grew up in Georgia and New Jersey, one of four kids raised by my mother and grandmother—we started in Georgia, then moved to Jersey. I had been an honor roll student when I first got to high school in Jersey but also became a terrible troublemaker and got thrown out of school in eleventh grade. I went back down to Georgia and worked cutting Georgia pine, but I was pretty much of a nomad and even though I worked, started doing more and more partying. Eventually I moved back to New Jersey but the partying had gotten out of hand and I ended up homeless in New York.

In the shelter, I came upon Project Renewal. I got off drugs at Third Street and everything started from there.

I put in for this education thing: I got my GED—which I’d wanted to do for a long, long time. I got training in computers—because I was like illiterate without computer skills. Then I went into the Culinary Arts Training Program, including the baking training. That was great: A week after I finished my internship I got a job at One if By Land, Two if by Sea, worked my way up to pastry supervisor there in the three years I was there. Then worked at Gustavino for a year as a banquet cook. Now I’m working as assistant pastry chef at Citicorp’s corporate dining room. I like it: In fine dining there was a lot of screaming. Here, I work the night shift and I have the whole kitchen to myself. Plus, there’s so much to do, the night just flies by.

Project Renewal turned my whole life around. They did everything for me. My whole attitude has changed. I’ve become a better person.

Even though I never lost touch with my family, they’re all SO happy that I found myself. I didn’t see my two daughters Leeah and Leesa for four years. Now I see them every weekend. The eldest one, I’m really tight with her. People say, boy you must really love her.  Every time I see you, you’re always together. One day, she tried to act mad at me, wouldn’t give me a kiss goodbye, so I left. A minute later she’s crying her head off because I didn’t kiss her goodbye.

I’m trying to teach them how to cook. So far, they’re just really good at eating, especially sweet potato pie. Couple of Thanksgivings ago, we had to drag Leeah out of the kitchen, she wouldn’t stop eating it. I see them just about every weekend; they come to my place in New York. That’s another thing— Project Renewal helped me find my apartment. And it’s big too. I come back to Culinary Arts every Tuesday and tutor in baking. I bring the terminology down to them. Like if I say, what’s roux to people in the hood, they have no idea what I’m talking about. But if I say, how do you make gravy after you fry pork chops, they know: they put flour in the grease that’s left in the pan. I tell them, that’s roux—50% fat, 50% thickener.

The people I taught, I run into them later and they’re happy. They’re self-sufficient. They can pay income tax. They’re part of society. It just feels good.