ANCHORAGE — There’s a face at Bean’s Café that is there to help put a smile on others. Her name is Ivory Mack. She was once homeless herself.
It’s 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.
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.
“I’m a case worker in training here at Bean’s Café,” Mack says with a smile. “I’m kind of like a nurse, too. I’m a little bit of everything down here.”
You would never know that Mack used to be a client here, reported KTUU-TV.
Mack’s story goes like this; she had humble beginnings, was born in Louisiana then moved to Seattle with her parents.
She moved north to Alaska with a boyfriend, which Mack says was the beginning of a downward spiral.
“When I got to Alaska I first tried to live a simple life,” Mack said. “Got a couple jobs, next thing I know I’m dancing and next thing I know I was strung out on drugs.”
“What can I say, getting high, drinking and I was one of the bad girls, you know.”
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.
That was the beginning of a series of life events that made her want to change.
“I was tired of being sick and tired,” said Mack.
Mack took advantage of a skills training program called Mature Alaskans Seeking Skills Training — or MASST — run by the state. It’s one of many programs offered to help people turn their life around.
Bean’s Café eventually offered a job at the same place she used to frequent often when she was living on the streets.
“I was so excited when they wanted me to come here and work, said Mack. “I mean, I used to be out there with the rest of them.”
“I think that they listen to her in a way that is different,” said Lisa Sauder, executive director at Bean’s. “When you’re talking to somebody that’s truly been where you are it’s a different conversation.”
Mack wants others to know that her story can be someone else’s story and that just because someone is homeless doesn’t mean they don’t deserve a second chance.
“If I can do it, you can do it. I mean I’m a walking example,” she says.
Mack has been working at Bean’s Café since the beginning of summer.
Her salary is paid through a grant.
