I am not an expert on that kind of question but I think [and it is only my own personal fallible opinion] that value, as in the value of a person, forms a continuum or range.

At one end of that range are people who have done really great things for people and the human race.

At the other end are people like, say, Hitler, Stalin and people who have caused the destruction of tens of millions of human beings through campaigns of genocide or forced starvation of populations.

Now I am not sure what you mean by "dirt bag," since it is a pejorative adjective.

I do not think that you have caused the destruction of tens of millions of men, women and children . . . or millions . . . or hundreds of thousands . . . or tens of thousands . . . or thousands . . . or hundreds . . . so I don't see how you could merit a pejorative label like that one.

Sometimes a person is good at some things but not so good at others or even poor in those areas of life.

There was a man named Oskar Schindler who kind of stumbled through life in a series of failures: failures in his personal life, in his professional life, in his moral life and so on.

But at one point in his life he did something pretty amazing by becoming a Holocaust rescuer. And that really redefined him as a human being.
And today is he is seen as one of the world's greatest heroes and human beings.

Of course, at one time, Oscar Schindler might have been called by a pejorative label similar to the English expression "dirt bag." But he recreated himself. Perhaps he used such a label to describe himself?

But often heroism is not so dramatic or heralded.

I know a homeless woman who lives day to day by begging. She is beset by terrible mental illness. But she has become known for always giving some of her money to various charities.

She often goes into gas stations and convenience stores for food and such and always puts some money into boxes for various charities: UNICEF, the March of Dimes, the Red Cross, St. Jude's Children's Hospital and so on.

It is her way of doing a little something to make the world a little bit of a better place for those less fortunate than herself.

So I think it is always possible for a person to do something great or to try to redraw the portrait of themselves.

Not sure what I have written will be helpful to you. My English is not that great and so perhaps I have misunderstood your words.

I do hope that others here, . . . others with more knowledge, insight, experience and wisdom will see your post and your question and respond with more helpful words than my poor words. I wish you only the best!