{"id":18154,"date":"2016-09-18T08:05:21","date_gmt":"2016-09-18T15:05:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spijue.wpengine.com\/news\/beans-cafe-success-story-hires-former-client\/"},"modified":"2016-09-18T08:05:21","modified_gmt":"2016-09-18T15:05:21","slug":"beans-cafe-success-story-hires-former-client","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/news\/beans-cafe-success-story-hires-former-client\/","title":{"rendered":"Bean’s Cafe success story; hires former client"},"content":{"rendered":"

ANCHORAGE \u2014<\/strong> There\u2019s a face at Bean\u2019s Caf\u00e9 that is there to help put a smile on others. Her name is Ivory Mack. She was once homeless herself.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a normal afternoon at the downtown soup kitchen. Lunch had just wrapped up and dozens of clients were still in the cafeteria gathered around watching TV.<\/p>\n

In an office in the back, Mack stands at a doorway handing out mail and giving out ibuprofen and Tylenol to those who have headaches.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a case worker in training here at Bean\u2019s Caf\u00e9,\u201d Mack says with a smile. \u201cI\u2019m kind of like a nurse, too. I\u2019m a little bit of everything down here.\u201d<\/p>\n

You would never know that Mack used to be a client here, reported KTUU-TV.<\/p>\n

Mack\u2019s story goes like this; she had humble beginnings, was born in Louisiana then moved to Seattle with her parents.<\/p>\n

She moved north to Alaska with a boyfriend, which Mack says was the beginning of a downward spiral.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I got to Alaska I first tried to live a simple life,\u201d Mack said. \u201cGot a couple jobs, next thing I know I\u2019m dancing and next thing I know I was strung out on drugs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat can I say, getting high, drinking and I was one of the bad girls, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mack remembers being beat up on several accounts. She was in and out of jail and recalls men attempted to rape her several times. After overdosing she was diagnosed with cancer.<\/p>\n

That was the beginning of a series of life events that made her want to change.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was tired of being sick and tired,\u201d said Mack.<\/p>\n

Mack took advantage of a skills training program called Mature Alaskans Seeking Skills Training \u2014 or MASST \u2014 run by the state. It\u2019s one of many programs offered to help people turn their life around.<\/p>\n

Bean\u2019s Caf\u00e9 eventually offered a job at the same place she used to frequent often when she was living on the streets.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was so excited when they wanted me to come here and work, said Mack. \u201cI mean, I used to be out there with the rest of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that they listen to her in a way that is different,\u201d said Lisa Sauder, executive director at Bean\u2019s. \u201cWhen you\u2019re talking to somebody that\u2019s truly been where you are it\u2019s a different conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mack wants others to know that her story can be someone else\u2019s story and that just because someone is homeless doesn\u2019t mean they don\u2019t deserve a second chance.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I can do it, you can do it. I mean I\u2019m a walking example,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Mack has been working at Bean\u2019s Caf\u00e9 since the beginning of summer.<\/p>\n

Her salary is paid through a grant.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ANCHORAGE \u2014 There\u2019s a face at Bean\u2019s Caf\u00e9 that is there to help put a smile on others. Her name is Ivory Mack. She was once homeless herself. It\u2019s a normal afternoon at the downtown soup kitchen. Lunch had just wrapped up and dozens of clients were still in the cafeteria gathered around watching TV. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_stopmodifiedupdate":false,"_modified_date":"","wds_primary_category":4,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[230],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-18154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-state-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/107"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18154"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18154\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18154"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=18154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}