SELFLESS RESIDENTS FIGHT HOMELESSNESS ON ALL FRONTS VOLUNTEERS AND COUNSELORS WORK AGAINST VALLEY HOMELESSNESS IN WAYS AS INDIVIDUAL AS THEY ARE EX-CON DEDICATES HIS OWN LIFE TO COUNSELING OTHERS.

Byline: Stories and photos by Jason Kandel Valley News Writee

Robert Porter is one of the most respected counselors at People In Progress, the rehab center where he used to live a decade ago and where he spent months kicking his drug habit.

With a humble demeanor, hearty handshake and imposing presence at over 6 feet tall, the assistant program manager commands respect.

``The residents call him Mr. Porter,'' said Dennis O'Sullivan, the executive director of People In Progress. ``They call me Dennis, and I'm the executive director. He's never asked anyone to call him Mr. Porter. That's the respect he commands. He's worn their shoes. He's been there. And they respect him.''

Porter, 60, says he's just doing his job. ``My devotion is fully into my job, into helping people. I get a lot of joy out of this.''

Recently, Porter has been counseling Lee Birmingham, 38, who's been in and out of custody since he was 11 years old, and has struggled for years with gangs and addiction. Birmingham walked into People In Progress last month to ``get my life straightened out.''

Porter has been a strong guide.

``I've been stabbed. I've been shot. You just get to that point. I'm through. I need to try this now,'' Porter said of entering into the program. ``Now it's time to give back what I've taken.''

Birmingham's first impression of Porter was that he was there to help.

``He made you feel comfortable. That's important because in your addiction, as you try to come up out of your sickness, you already beat yourself up. I need somebody who cares, somebody who's been through what I've been through, somebody who's been over that lump already.''

Porter spends his days interacting with men like Birmingham, men who just got out of prison, are down on their luck, or need moral support.

Nearly 400 men, ages 18 to 64, enter the rehab program a year, where they receive case management, job preparation, and recovery services. Residents stay anywhere from 30 days to two years. State and county money fund the shelter. Some residents in the sober living facility pay $435 a month in rent until they can sustain themselves.

About 100 men are housed at the Sun Valley facility, where they spend six months in a program, based on the 12-step philosophy of one person helping another person.

In addition to recovery, the program offers medical and psychiatric programs.

Porter's road to People In Progress was long and windy. He was born in 1946 in Chicago to a florist father and a housecleaner mother. In 1956, the family moved to California for a better life. Once here, his father worked as a janitor at a hospital. Porter graduated from San Fernando High School.

He briefly went to junior college, but dropped out. ``I started driving a truck and started making too much money,'' he said. While working as a truck driver, he said, he started getting into drugs -- pills, barbiturates, heroin and cocaine, he said.

``I associated with people who were using,'' he said. ``Most of my friends at the time -- that's what they did. That was the `in' thing.''

Eventually, he said, he began committing burglaries and robberies to get money to support his drug habit. As a result of ``stupidity and being dysfunctional'' he spent 22 years in and out of prison.

To top it all off, he said, while he was behind bars, his wife died in 1994 in a car crash in the San Fernando Valley.

In 1996, he got out of prison, and got sober with the help of People In Progress.

Today, when he's not spending time with his two daughters, ages 28 and 33, and his eight grandchildren, Porter is quick to volunteer at work. He goes into work at 7 a.m. and stays late. He worked Labor Day.

``I can't keep him out of the place,'' O'Sullivan said. ``He truly loves what he does.''

Porter has found his calling.

``I want to give back some of the stuff I took. I'm figuring this is the way,'' Porter said. ``I feel responsible for helping people, instead of destroying people.''

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(color) Robert Porter spent years in and out of prison and struggled with his addiction before turning his life around and becoming one of the most respected counselors at Sun Valley's People in Progress.