Although he has been a lawyer for about 40 years, Jim Musial, who previously lived in Chicago, found his true passion 15 years ago when he decided he had enough of representing white-collar criminals.
“One day, I woke up and decided that I was unhappy with who I had become. I was representing bad people, and it was self-serving. I came home frustrated and unfulfilled,” Musial said. “I was looking for something to give me a better purpose. I was hoping that if I had something like that as a sideline that it would help me temper frustrations and the general dislike for who I had become.”
He knew someone who ran a halfway house, so to change his perspective, he became a lawyer advocate for the men there. As an advocate, his duties included case management and helping those individuals get back on their feet.
By the time Musial left Chicago, he had six part-time social work positions. His part-time jobs included being a weekend facility manager at a shelter for homeless veterans, aiding the Lawyers’ Assistance Program as a referral agent, and an interventionist for lawyers with substance abuse problems. He was also practicing law that had become a one-day-a-week type of job.
“Once I had one part-time job, I was hooked doing service work and case management. It gave me a purpose and fulfillment that I hadn’t experienced in the last 25 years or before I started getting involved in this type of work,” Musial said.
Musial’s passion for social work grew, and he waited for the right opportunity until it came in 2011 when Musial became executive director of Sand Castle Shelter in La Porte County. Sand Castle Shelter is a program of the CCH, of which Musial has been executive director since 2013. CCH operates and manages four programs: Sand Castle Shelter, Keys to Hope Community Resource Center, Grace Learning Center, and a food rescue initiative. CCH completed its 30th year of service on May 31.
“I’m blessed to have this job. I believe this job saved my life as far as how unhappy I was with what I was doing,” Musial said. “The joy that this job brings me is unparalleled. I have never experienced anything like it. There is not a day that goes by that I don’t go home with some sense of fulfillment that I helped someone. ”
Musial not only advocates for those in need, but he finds funding or resources to continue the missions of the programs. Last year, the food rescue initiative moved more than one million pounds of food to 33 network partners throughout La Porte County.
Musial is proud of the growth he has seen with the programs but makes it clear that he is not the one who single-handly made the change because no one is greater than the cause. CCH works in conjunction with more than 100 different organizations.
“We don’t do anything on our own. We do it with as many people and organizations as we can,” Musial said. “If they had to rely on my sole talent, they would be in deep, deep trouble. We collaborate with the best of the best in La Porte County. It’s the poster child, for it takes a village.”
Not only is Musial the executive director for CCH, but he is also a board member for Homeward Bound and Intrepid Phoenix. He previously sat on the board for Remembering Our Veterans, Inc.
“I have fingers in everything, and it’s only because I am blessed to be at the epicenter of this organization that works with so many other organizations,” Musial said. “I firmly believe that we are making an impact, not just us as an organization, but as a community. As a community, we all work together to address these issues.”
When Musical is running errands, he often meets someone who has been helped by the CCH programs. Some of his proudest moments are hearing that the person and their family are doing fine.
“If you talk about little moments, those are the ones. It’s not pointing to the paperwork and realizing that since I have been here, we have more than tripled our grant income that comes in,” Musial said. “It’s coming in contact with the people after they leave us knowing they are doing well or fielding telephone calls from people that have gone through our program but need more assistance.”
Many mornings, Musial said there are children in his office, who also remind him that CCH and the network programs are making a difference.
“I’m a soft touch for the families and the children, but every one of them has to address their barriers,” Musial said. “You have to meet everyone with understanding and compassion. You have to know what they need, and you have to give it to them through a series of them earning it.”
Although there may be many challenges that Musial faces, he does not see restrictions. He sees collaborations, networking, and result-based accountability that make the restrictions or frustrations manageable.
“It’s a job that is difficult to do, but I have a very good staff, a good board of directors, and we have fabulous and unending partners to help us,” Musial said.
Musial lives in La Porte, and though he does not play as much as he used to, he loves to golf in his free time.