L.O.G.I.C. program helps dad focus on priorities: his kids

October 16, 2024

Right now, Marty Smack feels like he’s in a good place. A student in our L.O.G.I.C. program in Milford, he’s able to focus on achieving personal and professional goals – but that wasn’t always the case. This 40-year-old father of four has faced challenges throughout his life – including living unhoused — and he’s ready to change trajectory. He wants to be a role model for his children, and that’s something that was missing in his life. “My kids are my number one motivator,” he said.

Marty had a difficult childhood. “What I grew up in was dysfunctional, not a family setting. My dad was hardly ever there. My mom was locked up. There were times we were without water and electricity. We had to share clothes because we didn’t have money to wash them. My mom was on drugs, but she’s clean now,” he said.

“But I never had a family I could go to,” he continued. “I guess you could say my mom was tough love, but not because she didn’t understand the meaning of caring. She’s been down herself her whole life.”

Marty describes himself as a mentally strong individual, someone with a willingness to overcome adversity even though he didn’t always have a plan. It was during a conversation with a stranger on the bus when he realized he had the capacity to get his life together. The first step was connecting to supportive people in the Recovery Café in Dover. “They welcomed me,” Marty said. And it was there he first learned about the Food Bank of Delaware’s L.O.G.I.C. program.

L.O.G.I.C. (Logistics, Operations, General Warehousing and Inventory Control) is a 14-week training program, certified as a trade school by the Delaware Department of Education; students are prepared for careers in the warehousing/logistics industry. Students learn to use major equipment like end riders, lift trucks, order pickers and pallet jacks.

“I had some previous warehouse experience, and I like it. It got me right there,” he said. At the time, he was living in Seaford, but didn’t have transportation to Milford to interview and enroll, so he rode his bike – from Seaford.

“I said to myself ‘You’ve got to get yourself together. I don’t want to struggle anymore.’ When I told them (the program director), I was able to catch the bus back,” he added.

Since enrolling in the program, Mary’s made some positive changes: he’s living in transitional housing in Milford with a goal of acquiring permanent, safe housing. “I’ve already got my first certification here, and my goal is to get every last one,” he said.

“I’m looking for a job now, a part-time job to have money, to get my license back, to pay child support. I’m not hanging around people who don’t better my life. I’m tired of it. Once I get a job, things will start flowing better. I’m determined to do better. I don’t want my kids to remember me as a failure,” Marty said.