It wasn’t long ago Daniel Mangol was constantly being arrested on Independence Avenue. Now, he’s getting paid to clean up the same street that once led him to jail.
"My job is really, really nice. I like it. I like my job,” said Mangol.
The 31-year-old came to the United States as a refugee from war-torn South Sudan 12 years ago. Although he’s lived in Kansas City for several years, it wasn’t until now that he’s felt belonging and purpose.
"Before I used to drink, really, really bad. I used to get arrested twice a week,” said Mangol. "My life wasn't really good at the time."
Knowing Mangol had an addiction to alcohol and was being arrested weekly, a group of Northeast Kansas City leaders decided to pursue an idea – give Mangol, and others like him, a job.
The Independence Avenue Community Improvement District approved a workforce development program earlier this year. Those workers walk the avenue, picking up trash, complete landscaping, report anything suspicious – anything to help improve the quality of living on one of Kansas City’s most historic streets. That’s the job they wanted to give to Mangol.
"As opposed to perhaps continuing to send our current staff to classes, we wanted to do something for some of the folks that quite honestly are some of the nuisance offenders on Independence Avenue."said Bobbi Baker, Northeast Kansas City Chamber of Commerce president and CID manager.
Although Mangol started out as a volunteer, he was given plenty of incentive. Not only was he given a stipend to buy himself and his family new clothes, he was given assistance in retrieving all of his American identification that he lost while addicted to alcohol. Once his immigration papers and his identification were settled, so was his job status.
Mangol’s first day as a full-time, paid “Urban Street Ambassador” was Monday. He’s now been sober for nearly a year.
"We feel that this is a way that we can make a difference in these people's lives and we're gonna keep working towards that,” said Baker. "This has proved to be successful. We've worked with two people. Both have been successes."
"Right now I'm really, really happy. I'm done with all this problem. No more alcohol,” said Mangol.
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Josh Helmuth can be reached at josh.helmuth@kshb.com
