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Meet Jorge Lomas of Crossroads

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Jorge Lomas.

Jorge , let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I joined Crossroads 25 years ago after working in kitchens of some of the top resorts and restaurants in Phoenix and Las Vegas. Rio, Christopher’s, Gainey Ranch and Houston’s to name a few. With our first-born on the way, my wife and I decided to move back to Phoenix to start our family here. When we were back in town, I came across an ad in the paper for an open position in the kitchen at Crossroads. I wasn’t sure if it would be the right fit, but I knew I wanted to do something meaningful, so I went for it. 25 years later, here I am.

I am now the food services director for Crossroads, the largest residential treatment center in the Southwest. I’m responsible for making sure that the 1,000+ meals we are expected to serve every day, across all 6 facilities, are served. I take care of the behind-the-scenes work that keeps our kitchens running smoothly – meal planning, creating the menus, placing orders, coordinating schedules, keeping everything up to code, etc.

It’s a team effort and I have the support of a great kitchen staff. We serve breakfast, lunch and dinner every day at six different facilities – and no matter what we each have going on, no matter what life throws our way, and we have never missed a meal. The job always gets done and that’s worth applauding.

Our work is so much more than just making sure we feed everyone though. Providing our residents with a good, nutritious meal is such an important part of their recovery. When someone is active in their addiction, the last thing on their mind is food. Once at Crossroads, it’s up to me and my team to make sure our residents is getting what their body’s need and what they deserve – a healthy, delicious meal that will help them feel good and look good.

I’m proud to say that I love what I do – it’s a lot more than just a job. I believe in this program and in the work we are doing. We are part of the solution; saving lives and helping people recover what their addictions took from them. It’s a great feeling to wake up and do that every day.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has been a road full of obstacles especially in the industry that I work in. Every day I see how this epidemic continues to take more and more lives. There are days when it feels like it doesn’t matter how many facilities we open, there will never be enough. When I started with Crossroads 25 years ago, we had two facilities – now there are six. Very soon we will have seven and we will fill up that seventh facility almost immediately.

It’s difficult to watch good people lose their lives to this disease. I get to see residents grow and become the best versions of themselves. It’s a lifelong battle though, and we lose too many great human beings to it.

But there’s a bright side to all of this. Over the years, I have been a witness to the great things that come from this program. Watching families be reunited, mothers graduating from the program and getting their children back, residents starting up their own businesses and succeeding… this is all proof that we are on the right track and a motivation to keep doing what we’re doing. It’s a beautiful thing to see people succeed.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Crossroads – what should we know?
Crossroads is the largest residential treatment facility in the Southwestern region of the United States, with six campuses around the Valley, providing a total of 303 beds.

Crossroads is an Arizona Department of Health Services licensed substance abuse treatment provider with over 50 years of proven expertise in serving addicted individuals through the provision of high quality, successful, and affordable residential and outpatient programs.

Crossroads campuses provide a safe, healthy and highly structured environment for those committed to achieving sobriety and self-sufficiency. The programs promote recovery, family reunification, and successful reintegration.

One of the things that we are most proud of is that we don’t give up on people. We are there for our residents no matter how many times they walk through our doors. Even when society turns its back and families lose hope, we welcome them back in with open arms. We treat them with the respect they deserve and help them get back on their feet. As long as they want the help, we are here for them.

As someone who is not in recovery, I really admire the way my colleagues lead by example. Most of our staff is in recovery and the majority has been through Crossroads’ program, including our executive director. We are all passionate about this mission. It’s refreshing to not just go to work every day, we go to a place where we get to serve and make a difference.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My success, and the success of Crossroads, is thanks to the great leadership at the front of this organization. Everyone from the board of directors to the two executive directors I’ve had the privilege of working for – Rich Merkel and, currently, Lee Pioske.

Together Rich and Lee helped me understand recovery, and in the process become a better person. It’s easy to go above and beyond when you work for great people. The structure they each provided me with has made me the leader I am today.

I also owe a lot of my success to my team, the kitchen staff. Like I mentioned before, it’s a team effort and I couldn’t be successful without being able to rely on a team that I know is always willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done.

In order to make sure Crossroads continues to succeed and stays true to its roots, we need to keep passing on the values that Rich and Lee have worked so hard to instill in this organization. We are a family and we are passionate, and we are not afraid to be innovative if it means we get to save more lives.

Someone recently asked me where I would be if I never would have walked into Crossroads for that job 25 years ago. My answer – I would probably be working in some fancy resort, serving expensive meals, going home tired and empty. Here at Crossroads, I still get to prepare delicious meals I’m proud of, but I go home feeling good, knowing that my purpose in life is to help people change their lives for the better.

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