AN ALTRUIST’S ICON
Remembering Duane Chapman’s life of empathy and service
By Matt Larson
Regardless of how often you volunteer, or how much you
give back to your community, most of us can admit that we
could always do more. Such was not the case for Richmond’s
Duane Chapman. A nurse, an advocate for the homeless, an
alcohol and drug counselor, a social worker, a board member,
a volunteer—Duane dedicated his life to helping others, and
remained consistent in those efforts
for decades until his very last day on
October 30, 2018.
“Even up until the point of him
passing he was still working on things,”
said Duane’s nephew Charles Rembert.
“He was just born with the gift of
wanting to help. He didn’t even have
to know you, the man would bring
you home, buy you something to
eat, if you ain’t got no clothes he’d
have something for you to wear; he’d
probably only let you stay for one
night because he liked his privacy, but
he’d still let you stay.”
At the time of his passing,
Duane was chair of the Contra
Costa County Mental Health
Commission. Professionally, he helped
his community as a nurse for 30 years. Outside of work
and family, his influence was felt all over the county. He
co-founded Richmond Rainbow Pride (Richmond’s first
LGBT organization), at one point he was in charge of every
single homeless shelter in the county, he logged 20 years of
volunteer efforts with the Richmond Police Department
(RPD), helped fundraise for Richmond PAL … the list is
immeasurable.
Duane also helped organize Juneteenth and many other city
festivals. “He wanted to make sure there were opportunities
for the community to come out and get resources and
information; and have a good time!” said RPD’s Crime
Prevention Manager Michelle Milam.
“He worked on our Foster Care Youth Conference, doing
everything from helping us raise money, to getting special
speakers to participate, to even helping make sure there were
enough barbers to cut the boys’ hair,” she continued. “He
gained favor with people of influence so he could help the
people who did not have the access he had.”
Michelle shared an example of when Duane went above
and beyond. “One day a package showed up full of $20,000
in electronics for foster care youth because he charmed a
secretary into getting her boss to believe he should help
foster care kids,” she said. Be it reaching out to Chipotle, or
President Obama, Duane utilized every resource he could
possibly think of in working toward the greater good. But
it wasn’t just the community he watched out for, it was his
family as well.
“He got me around two months old,” Charles said. “In
recent years I’ve started to call him my unclefather,”
he laughed. Duane raised Charles like
a son, as well as Charles’ brother Richard from
age 7, his sister Keithia from age 9. “He was
like a powerhouse,” Charles said. “The ability
to have done and accomplish everything he’s
done, being a single, black, gay male, and
raising three kids alone?” Powerhouse, indeed.
“We definitely really miss him,” Michelle
said. “Even while he was being treated
for cancer he was still coming in and
volunteering, wanting to help people.” She
tells us that there are so many people who
knew Duane from his work as a homeless
resource specialist, and his work as a drug and
alcohol counselor, that would unequivocally
say: Duane saved my life.
“He touched a lot of hearts,” Charles added.
“And it wasn’t because he wanted to be rich,
or wanted to be nationally known for what he did. He was a
genuine, caring person.”
According to Michelle, Duane had always wanted to see the
county have a mental health response team. “He would always
say: police officers aren’t social workers and we’re asking them
to be.” But resources were limited, so he decided to ride along
with some officers to both understand their approach, and
offer some insight. “Now, we have a clinician that rides with
an officer to go out and respond to mental health calls, and
that was something Duane advocated for.”
As we mourn Duane’s loss, it’s time to step up and help
fill his shoes so his legacy of service lives on. Charles suggests
getting involved with Richmond PAL at (510) 621-1221,
or reach out to Michelle at (510) 620-6546 to discuss some
volunteering possibilities. At the very least, heed some of
Duane’s advice, via Charles:
“The most important thing is life, and how good of a
person you are while you’re here. Stand up, and use your voice
to change something you don’t like, or make it better. Duane
always instilled in me: it’s not what you say, but how you say
it. Your voice is the strongest tool; it can cause people to do
some of the meanest things, and it can cause people to do
some of the greatest things. Don’t be afraid to use your voice.”
Duane Chapman
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