EVERY SUCCESS STORY IS A GREAT STORY
James Tilghman
  Every morning for a year, James Tilghman would walk the 30 minutes from Green Street to Roosevelt Avenue in Newark, pick up a van, and spend his eight-hour shift transporting homeless individuals where they needed to go. In the bitter cold of New Jersey winter mornings, in the steamy, humid days of summer, in the rain—he would walk to work, drive for the day, then return to the little room that he was barely able to afford.
This job marked the beginning of many years of service to people experiencing homelessness. James would complete graduate education in Human Services, work in substance abuse programs, design and implement HIV programs, and ultimately become Assistant Program Coordinator at Newark Homeless Health Care.
Before he began serving homeless people, James Tilghman was homeless himself. For two years, he lived on the streets.
James had long wrestled with addiction to drugs and alcohol. By the late 1980s, he had become homeless. In 1988, he sought help through the Salvation Army, where he first connected with Newark Homeless Health Care (NHHC). He had no idea at the time that he would eventually join the NHHC staff. “For the first time in years,” says James, “I was treated like a human being.”
The next year, James was hired as a driver for the Salvation Army. With his newfound sobriety and the money he was able to save, he rented a small room that was a 30-minute walk from work. In 1989, he became a driver for NHHC. “I wanted to be doing something good for others,” he explains.
In the early 1990s, James became focused on learning all he could about addiction and how to treat it. He began taking courses and volunteered at the Turning Point program. Soon he was hired as the Evening Shift Supervisor. But he kept his driving job with NHHC.
Those around him realized that James’ skills were underutilized in his role as a driver. He moved into the position of Social Services Aide and wrote a proposal to expand homeless outreach services during the nighttime hours. His own experience, rather than studies or surveys, taught him that this was when it was critical to connect with people living on the streets. Before long, James was a Social Case Worker and had earned his Master’s degree.
During these years, James also volunteered each summer with Homeward Bound, a summer camp run by the New York Coalition for the Homeless to serve children experiencing homelessness. He had also become passionate about HIV: “The people I ran with on the streets were all dead from HIV.” He designed and implemented the Turning Point’s HIV program.
In January 2005, he was promoted to his current position as Assistant Program Coordinator at Newark Homeless Health Care.
When he discusses his past, James is pragmatic: “You take whatever comes down, you deal with it, then you move forward. No matter what happens in life, you cannot quit.” I express amazement about his commitment to his work over the past 15 years. “I have a vested interest in the people we serve,” he replies. “I was one of them.”
|
|
