When Matthew Epps came to The Shelter, he said he felt lost, scared and hopeless. Then, Alyese Patterson, Manager of Care Coordination, asked if he was interested in recovery. And, he said, “Yes. Please.”  Alyese said, “I actually spoke with his sister before I spoke with him. So, I knew Matthew had a strong support system. Then, as I got

When Charlene Rowe was six years old, living in North Trenton, she knew her mom was struggling, trying to keep it together. She imagined a thin rope that her mom was somehow barely holding onto. “My mom was around,” Charlene recalled, then looked off, as if in the distance. “But she was caught up in drugs.” Then something happened. As

When Nicole and Chuck met, as children, they were drawn to each other, magnetically. He, with his sideways smile. She, always looking over her shoulder. They got each other. They had a connection that went beyond understanding.  As they grew older, whenever they entered each other‘s homes, they knew to expect the unexpected. There was no wishing for something different.

When Anthony Grassi was 16 years old, he said, “Nobody could tell me what to do. I thought I knew it all. I was using and dealing. And my mother said I was either going to flush the drugs down the toilet or get out. So I left and lived in a Jeep.” “From there, I was trapped in a