It took Jody Mooney just 90 days to lose nearly everything he had. And 20 years to reconstruct his life.
Now he’s finally getting somewhere.
Jody, 52, has spent the last two decades trying to repair the devastation he suffered because of drug addiction in the early 1990s.
A college-educated professional, Jody worked in Washington, D.C., from 1985 to 1991 as a legislative assistant, then as chief of staff for former Florida Congressman Charles Bennett. When Bennett retired, Jody moved back to his hometown of Jacksonville, Fla., where he found a job as an executive with the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce. He met and married a woman who had moved to Florida from Des Moines, and they had a son.
Accomplished and personable, Jody was living a good, full life. But everything moved too fast and someone introduced him to crack cocaine when he was 32.
“I couldn’t control my drug habit, and I couldn’t hold my career together,” he said.
“Within 90 days I lost my job. I lost my house. I lost my car. I lost everything. It was that quick. I still can’t believe it happened.”
He struggled, in and out of treatment, with his addiction for several years. He even managed to stay clean for three years. Then he relapsed, and after committing a crime, he was arrested, convicted and served more than four years in prison. His wife and son moved to Des Moines so they could be with family.
When he got out of prison in May 2014, Jody came to Des Moines so he could have a relationship with his son. He continued to struggle off and on with drug addiction, and lived for a time in a shelter. He has found help recently, however, from a 12-step recovery program — and from Goodwill.
He went through Goodwill’s Janitorial Service Program last year, and did some work with the Food Service program. Then, he found a job as a host at Django, a downtown Des Moines restaurant. He moved out of the shelter and into the residential facility at the Des Moines YMCA.
He’s now working to rent an apartment, so his son can visit him. And, he’s becoming interested in a restaurant management career. Recently, Django presented him with a quarterly award, because he does much more than simply greet and seat guests there.
Jason Olinghouse, general manager of the restaurant, praised Jody for the example he sets.
“He brings the things that are difficult: A smile, a good attitude and a positive outlook,” Olinghouse said. “He says hello to everyone. Whether they know it or not, people like that are a morale booster to everyone.”
Jody says his recovery has been a challenge.
“I think it helped me realize I have a problem with addiction, but it’s something I can do something about,” he said. “Some people are dealt certain cards, and they can’t do much about it. Being at Goodwill was an inspiration to me, and it made me think I’m grateful for where I’m at.
“I define myself as being a person in recovery. Coming out of prison has almost been a rebirth. I had a lot of issues at the beginning. I’m getting stronger and Goodwill played a role in getting me to where I am today.”
(Jody’s story is one of hundreds of Goodwill success stories. Goodwill helped place 565 people in jobs in central Iowa last year, and we have already helped even more in 2015. We will tell many of those stories in the months ahead.)
