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>>>RICHARD LOPEZ: I understood that I needed
to surround myself by people that are very
successful because I wanted to be successful,
leave the, the corner alone,
quit hanging out in the corner and hang out with
people that have been very successful.
My name is Richard Lopez, I am a supervisor for the
mailroom, I handle a couple of contracts with
the State of Texas. This is my third time back
with Goodwill. I started in the early '80s,
I got training here, but of course,
I had gotten myself in a little trouble. I started
my addiction when I was like nine and ten,
twelve years old, with cigarettes and then of
course went to stronger things after that.
>>>JO ANN LOPEZ: It was just you know what other people
were doing and we followed in that same lifestyle.
>>>RICHARD LOPEZ: And I looked at my children and
they were getting older and they were starting to
understand that we weren't there for them
100 percent. One morning, after about a three-,
four-day binge, my wife and I was,
about four-thirty, five in the morning,
just crying and just wishing that things could
be different. I started looking for work and I
went through about 16 jobs before
I landed back at Goodwill again.
>>>JO ANN LOPEZ: The opportunity with Goodwill came
along and that made a lot of difference in our lives.
>>>MUSIC
>>>MELVIN CAPLER: I've heard a lot of things about
Richard and his challenges about work and
so we talked and we got to know each other.
>>>RICHARD LOPEZ: He took a look at me and he
saw something, I was like a piece of clay and he
was just there working with me everyday.
>>>MELVIN CAPLER: We're, we're not just building
a business, we're building a relationship.
>>>RICHARD LOPEZ: Melvin is there at day,
he's there at night, he's there 24 hours
a day, seven days a week.
>>>MELVIN CAPLER: Richard has worked very hard
to set an example of breaking the cycle of
poverty, the cycle of drugs. He's worked very
hard to set the example that, you know, that's
not the road he wants his family to follow.
>>>RICHARD LOPEZ: One of the greatest points of
my life here at Goodwill. When I was given the
opportunity to lead our mailroom,
I was just part of the assembly line when I
first started in the mailroom here.
>>>JO ANN LOPEZ: He comes home and I
get the impression that he feels like
he's accomplished something for the day.
>>>ERICA AREVALO: That's where I've seen him
ground his feet at, where he's you know,
this is what he wants to do, where he wants to stay.
>>>STEPHANIE LOPEZ: It gave him the strength
he needed to take care of his family.
>>>GABRIEL LOPEZ: I would describe my dad
as a hardworking person that tries to
reach for his goals that he has in life.
>>>RICHARD LOPEZ: I don't do a lot of this for
just a paycheck, I do this because I want to
set the example to my family, to my kids,
my friends. I don't want to be judged as someone
that, from my past, the things that I've done.
I like being judged for what I can bring to a table --
on my loyalty, my commitment. My aunts,
my uncles, my parents, my cousins,
they're very happy and proud of me and they see
me in a different light. It's helped us go to a
different level, a little bit higher and I'm ready
to accept that challenge. I'm ready to move forward
and, and accept the, the more of the opportunities
that I'm, I know are going to come our way.
>>>MUSIC