James Rodriguez, 43, knows what it’s like for some of Camden’s recently paroled men and women.
“Incarcerated for most of my life for drugs and alcohol abuse, I know what it feels like to get out of prison and struggle with my addictions, and have no one to talk to or support me,” he said.
With the help of Camden Churches Organized for People (CCOP), he realized that the drug and alcohol abuse that became a way of life for him, “wasn’t worth it to me anymore,” said Rodriguez, a parishioner of St. Josephine Bakhita Parish and member of CCOP.
On May 14 at Joe’s Place in Camden, Rodriguez and CCOP announced the launch of the first Welcome Center to help men and women coming out of prison receive health services, find employment and stay away from the factors that cause them to return to prison.
In partnership with Cooper University Hospital’s Urban Health Institute, Project H.O.P.E., Volunteers of America, and the New Jersey state parole board, CCOP opened the Welcome Center for one day on May 14, to allow paroled individuals the opportunity to share their story with health specialists and volunteers, address their mental and physical issues, enroll in Medicaid, and schedule a free health screening at Project H.O.P.E., or through the Urban Health Institute.
Sister Mary Lou Lafferty, prison ministry coordinator, Catholic Charities, Diocese of Camden, said that enrollment in Medicaid “will give them an opportunity for counseling, medication, whatever they would possibly need to prevent them from returning to their old behavior.”
The crime rate in Camden City is five times the national average. Rodriguez called the Welcome Centers “a positive move” for the individuals, and the city.
“By helping these individuals, we can stop violence and help them get on the right path,” Rodriguez said.
“We can give them the proper tools they need to re-enter our society and become a positive influence to our communities and families around us.”
May 14 at Joe’s Place, a part of Sacred Heart Parish, was only the beginning. On June 21, a Welcome Center will be opened at Columbus House on Independence Avenue, near St. Josephine Bakhita Parish.
The hope is that every month, the Welcome Centers operate alternately between Joe’s Place and Columbus House to help Camden County residents.
CCOP used the occasion to draw attention to a legislative package that promotes policies that can create an environment where residents in Camden can have access to jobs. The legislative package would include The Opportunity to Compete Act (S1484), a bill in the N.J. State Legislature; the Youth Promise Act (H.R. 1318 and S. 1307), a bill in the United States Congress; and the introduction of a bill in the N.J. State Legislature, which would seek driving privileges for immigrants so that they can commute to work without fearing deportation.
Written by Peter G. Sánchez for the May 23, 2014 Catholic Star Herald
Photo by James A. McBride
Carlos Merced, left, of St. Josephine Bakhita Parish, Camden, shakes hands with James Rodriguez at the launch of a Welcome Center to help men and women recently released from prison.