From assaulting a police officer while under the influence, then having coffee with him years later, Joaquin “Ken” Delgado helps people who are where he once was in the Renton court system.

Delgado is a peer services specialist, otherwise known as a peer counselor, for Peer Kent, a Kent-based nonprofit that provides emotional support and development services to those impacted by addiction, mental health and HIV/AIDS.

Although Peer Kent is based in Kent, Delgado said he spends every day of the week on the third floor of Renton City Hall with his own office, going to the Renton Municipal Court and reaching out his hand to anyone who will receive it.

Delgado said he arrives at the courtroom — and via Zoom — and tells people attending court who he is. Then, after court is over for the day, Delgado will go to jail to reach out to those who might need his help.

“I’ll just get on the mic and say, ‘Hey, I’m Ken. I work for Peer Kent, a nonprofit organization. I don’t work for the courts at all, and I don’t report to the courts. We do peer coaching support groups, referrals, supportive housing, employment, treatment, and King County drug diversion court. If you’re interested, my office is in the back,’” Delgado said.

He said people who are in jail might need to do a substance use assessment, or they might be interested in going to treatment, so he connects people to the correct services. Apart from helping people fulfill their court-mandated obligations, Delgado said some people he connects with just call him to talk.

“So being there for a person at the lowest point, that’s how I see myself helping somebody, by just saying, hi, good morning,” Ken said. “Looking at them as a human, talking to them as a person, not as a client, not as a criminal, not as anything else, but who he is and meeting them at their level, where they’re at.”

Delgado said years earlier, while going through a methamphetamine addiction, he was the person facing the judge. But now, as a peer counselor, he’s on the other side of the room and works with the Renton judges daily. He said that when he goes into jail, he’s a vision of hope for people because he used to be the one in jail.

“I had the guard look up my name one time, and he said, ‘Wow, you look like this guy,’ and I tell them, yeah, that was me back in the day, dude. That’s who I was, and this is who I am now. And a lot of people that I talked to who are incarcerated in SCORE [South Correctional Entity jail] view me as a vision of hope. They ask me if I was in there, and I tell them I knew the lieutenant when he was an officer. Now he’s the one letting me in here to talk to you guys, to help you with your needs and wants, and get into recovery,” Delgado said. “That’s why I love what I do because it makes me feel good about my recovery. I know what journey I am on in my recovery … to help individuals who are still struggling.”

Ken’s story

Delgado grew up in Guam and didn’t come to the U.S. until he was in his 30s for work. He said it wasn’t until his 30s, when he was in the Seattle area, that he ended up using methamphetamine. He said it started with him trying to get a family member off of the drug, and then through trying to get the drug dealers to stop selling to his family member, he ended up trying it.

From there, he said it was a cycle of working and getting more money, then using again. From there, he said he got into selling drugs and using them. Eventually, because he was getting high, Delgado said he ended up assaulting a police officer twice.

“But, then, lo and behold, the officer’s still here, Sergeant Tolliver. He was an officer then, but he was on my second case for assault,” said Delgado, who is now sober. “It was like full circle for me. Wow, we even have coffee together now. I asked him if he remembered me, and he said, ‘No, you look healthy now.’ Back then, I was 110 pounds with long hair. I was sucked in, right. I literally assaulted this guy at the bus transit on Grady Way. Now that he sees me here, he says, ‘Excellent job.’ We’re friends now. It’s full circle.”

Delgado is now 52, and moving forward, he said he just wants to work until he can’t anymore, and then he will go back to Guam. He said he’s gotten offers for other jobs, but he feels like God has him where he needs to be. He said he gets offers to help get people into recovery, but he said those employers look at recovery more like a business.

Delgado said he doesn’t look at people that way, and that’s not how he wants to do it. He said his four kids told him he doesn’t need to work anymore, but he still won’t stop because he’s living the dream. He gets to see people who are struggling, then succeeding after finding help.

“Every day I do what I do because it helps my recovery,” Delgado said. “People say I help them, but they basically help me.”