Community Story
Miguel Mendez, Housing Works Senior Vice President of Operations
Two weeks after Miguel Mendez started working at Housing Works as a case management technician in 1993, his sister died of AIDS. He took five days of bereavement leave, and shortly after he came back, Housing Works President and CEO Charles King called him into his office. “I thought I was going to get fired!” recalls Mendez, now Housing Works’ Senior Vice President of Operations. “Instead, he asked me if I needed more time off. Because of this act of compassion, that’s when I knew I was going to stay at Housing Works.”
Even before his sister died, Mendez knew that he wanted to work somewhere that he could join the fight against AIDS. “In the late 80s and early 90s, most of my friends and family members were getting AIDS and dying of AIDS,” he says. Since then, Mendez’ dedication to fighting the epidemic through Housing Works has seen him through nearly a half-dozen promotions and several academic degrees, including a master’s in information systems engineering.
Mendez has even passed on his commitment to his two sons, Paul and Miguel III. Paul started in August 2008 as an Internet merchandise coordinator for Housing Works Thrift Shops Miguel has worked at Housing Works since 2000 and is a case manager for the Women’s Transitional Housing Program. “I work harder because I like to keep my father’s name where it’s at,” Miguel says.
Like so many others who work here, Mendez says Housing Work is family. “I got a bunch of cousins and uncles and brothers and sisters, and we all work together to help people in need,” he says.
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