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Story and photos by Michael Mancuso Early on a recent, damp Thursday morning, a van slowly makes its way down a forbidding, narrow alley in Trenton’s South Ward. The van stops where a lone man is randomly pacing behind a garage, periodically hunching over, emitting non-verbal sounds. He wears droopy camo cargo pants and a […]

“It is like a ghost, hiding in the shadows.” That’s how Jessica Evans described the depression that periodically has taken hold of her. When those shadows started to appear in August of last year, Jessica said, “I went to St. Francis Medical Center for a few days. They got me back on medication. But I

This transformative three-week experience helps individuals in recovery see new possibilities for themselves – and create a plan to achieve their own success. Watch our video on how individuals in the inaugural class created changes for themselves.

Can people who are in recovery break out of the repeating loops of poverty, prison, substance use disorder and find a new direction in life? At The Mission, we think so. And have a plan. You can read the story here on NJ.com.

As he walked up to the podium at the Commencement Ceremony for the Inaugural Class of The New Direction Project, Bernard Herrman looked out at the audience, where his mother and godmother sat with the New Jersey Department of Human Services Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner, as well as representatives from Drug Court, the State Parole