Fabian Bennett is the engagement specialist for Lodestar Day Resource Center in Phoenix. After 10 years as a drug dealer, Bennett reached out for help at the Human Services Campus. He said the services at the campus have given him hope and the opportunity to change his life.
As an engagement specialist, Bennett reaches out to homeless individuals to make sure they are getting the help they need. Bennett said he is there to help and motivate them, but in the end, they have to want and accept the help.
Bennett made a living on the streets by cooking and selling meth. He was a drug addict and an alcoholic, but now he speaks regularly at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. He is currently reading Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers, a book about the early history of alcoholics.
While he was a drug dealer for ten years, Bennett damaged his relationships with his friends and family, he said. Due to his sobriety, he was able to rebuild his life with new friends and mend his relationship with his family. He decorates his desk with pictures of his new life as well as his family.
He did not grow up a Christian man, but once he decided to change his life, Bennett said he found faith in God while he was in jail. He said he meditates every morning to clear his mind and pray in the community garden.
The current campus procedural change is causing an added stress to Bennett’s life. Due to the change, he has to make sure that the new security measures are followed by both administrators and clients of the campus.
As part of the new measure, clients’ belongings must be stored in the bag room. Bennett said this is frustrating to clients. The clients must store everything they own in a room. The campus is still looking for more room to store the belongings.
Bennett thoroughly explains the new procedure to clients multiple times a day, he said. Most of the time he only needs to remind them of the new rules. He said most of the administration is short with the clients about the new change, so he tries to be as detailed and helpful as possible, answering any questions they have.
In the mornings, Bennett joins Shannon Felty to reach out to the homeless community and offer them services and a bagged lunch. Bennett and Felty work together to communicate what services are available to homeless individuals.
Bennett and Felty are helping a Vietnamese man during their routine community outreach on Nov. 17. They encounter many internationally displaced people who do not understand how to get help and often get lost in the system due to language barriers.
Bennett and Felty discovered a tent city on Van Buren Street on Nov. 17. They found needles and materials to make meth and crack cocaine. They said drug addicts are most likely to not seek help and need help the most.
Bennett found photos at a foot of a mattress in the tent city on Van Buren Street. The photos looked to be taken sometime during the 1990s.
Felty takes photos on her phone of the photos that Bennett found. They said they will use the photos as cross-references if one of their clients is in them. Afterward, Bennett stacked the photos back where he found them.
Bennett said he loves what he does: spreading hope to those who need it. He said he knows what the homeless have been through and wants to show them that he cares. Bennett is currently going to college to become a social worker.
Contact the photographer at aimackli@asu.edu
