Block crew manager finds success in serving community

Robert Patterson is excited. December 20th will mark the end of his parole. There are many reasons to be excited about your parole program ending, but what excites him most is getting his certificate of graduation. It will be a symbol of how far he’s come. Patterson, 59, has struggled with addiction and housing insecurity for large portions of his adult life. The two have often gone hand-in-hand. Robert has generally always worked if he could find any, but when his addiction would worsen, it’d often see jobs lost and bills go unpaid. By Robert’s own estimate, he’s experienced homelessness on 3 or 4 different occasions, having spent a combined 10-15 years on the street. Robert’s story of addiction isn’t unique in this world. It isn’t unique in his own family. Three of his siblings have struggled with it as well. A brother and a sister who had their lives derailed by it, and a baby brother who had his life ended by it — tragically killed while attempting to purchase drugs. Robert will tell you that he feels that throughout his life, he’s had several “golden opportunities” to change his situation and permanently end his homelessness but that he...