Meet Aaron Harris

Gemeinschaft Home's Newest Case Manager
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Case Manager, Aaron Harris

A​t the end of 2022, Aaron Harris joined the Gemeinschaft Home team as a case manager, working with men enrolled in the residential program on Mt. Clinton Pike.

At age 56, Harris brings a range of life experience to the job, which gives him a unique perspective when engaging with program participants.

Born in upstate New York, Harris has lived all over the country, from his high school graduation during the mid-1980s in Miami, Florida to time spent on the west coast working in the restaurant industry in the San Francisco Bay area until the late 1990s.

Drug and alcohol use is rampant among many restaurant workers, owing to high stress environments and grueling hours, and Harris has struggled over the years with addiction.

He returned to upstate New York in the early 2000s to be near his family and to seek help for substance abuse.

After participating in a residential program at an ARC (Adult Rehabilitation Center), Harris began to focus on his future, first enrolling in community college courses in 2005 and later graduating with a degree in English and fine arts from Keuka College.

Harris says that his experience in the ARC program introduced him to the concept and importance of social work and community-based services for individuals in need, and he started to notice that “there are a lot of people in the world who either were not getting help they need or not enough.”

Harris also married and started a family during this period, and eventually relocated to Harrisonburg, Virginia to attend the Master of Fine Arts program at James Madison University.

He graduated in 2011 and remained in Virginia but continued to struggle periodically with addiction and eventually enrolled in a six-month residential program (ARC) offered by the he Salvation Army in Virginia Beach.

Harris’ experience in this program solidified his desire to pursue a career in human services, and he was hired by the Salvation Army to work for the program after he successfully completed it.

He spent several years working for the organization, starting out at the front desk, but later moving into positions of higher responsibility, which includes becoming a house manager and most recently the intake coordinator.

Because his family lives in Harrisonburg, Harris returned to the area to pursue his current position at Gemeinschaft Home and to be near his children.

As case manager, he draws from his own life experiences to engage with current participants and to offer a path forward without judgement. Harris’ philosophy is “Yeah, I have been there, but look at me now, I am proof that you can do it,” adding “We are not defined by our past. We are who we are now.”

He says the job brings many challenges but argues that “as long as you come in with a good level of sincerity,” success is possible.

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