Difference Maker: John Gary provides people with ‘hand up’ through Gibson Center, Habitat for Humanity

John Gary
Aaron Eisenhauer

John Gary has spent his career seeing people hit rock bottom and giving them a hand up. Today, Gary is the CEO of the Gibson Center for Behavioral Change, but back in 1985 he was first hired there as a part-time cook.

As a freshman at Southeast Missouri State University, and intending to major in business management, he found himself running short of money and his parents made it clear that he should “probably get a job.”

“It was a strong directive.” Gary said with a laugh. “I kind of partied a little too much and ran out of funds.”

Not long after, Gary was hired as a residential supervisor. It was an overnight shift working with Gibson Center residents going through detox and rehab. Gary credits this job with starting him down the path of a career helping individuals with substance use disorders.

Gary often stepped in to help friends if their drinking was getting out of hand or if they got in trouble with law enforcement. They told Gary he was easy to talk to. This personality and willingness to help people when they were down made him a good fit for the Gibson Center.

Rather than return to SEMO for a business management degree, Gary decided to study under one of the counselors at the Gibson Center and become certified as a substance use counselor. During this time, Gary learned and took on the philosophy of helping people with a “hand up” rather than a “hand out.”

“We need to guide people in the right direction by giving them the tools and resources and helping them to be responsible for their own path forward,” Gary said.

Gary believes each individual has their own destiny, and they need to be able to chart their own waters to reach that destiny. But if someone is doing it for them, it’s not really theirs. They can’t take ownership. Giving them a hand up allows them to be responsible for the path they choose.

This past May, Gary participated in a groundbreaking ceremony held for a new crisis center. The new facility will have a five-bed capacity and provide a place of rest for a 23-hour period for individuals who are overcome with anxiety or depression.

Even with all his duties at the Gibson Center, Gary went looking to find a way to help people outside the scope of mental health and volunteered with Habitat for Humanity. Soon he was nominated to the board and is now acting as interim CEO.

“So many times people are wanting home ownership but are not in a position to make it happen,” he said. “I want to also give them a hand up to make permanent home ownership a reality for people that it wouldn’t normally be.”

Construction on the 62nd house built by the Cape Area Habitat for Humanity was slowed due to weather and supply chain issues but is on schedule now to be finished by the end of the summer.

Standing indefinitely as interim CEO, Gary is working with Habitat for Humanity to form a plan of succession and build up the qualifications of someone within the current staff to take over the position sometime down the road.

The Gibson Center for Behavioral Health celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2019, and Habitat for Humanity just celebrated it’s 35th this past May.

In his capacity as leader of both the Gibson Center and the Cape Girardeau Habitat for Humanity, Gary said he has witnessed many people change their lives for the better.

“I’ve seen some truly astonishing transformations,” he said. “People arrive desperate but leave healthy and with a new outlook, able to face the world again.”

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