Life-changing opportunities
Success takes on a new meaning.
Success at The Mission happens in so many ways.
Sometimes, success happens after many failed attempts. Occasionally, it occurs with a step backwards, followed by a few wavering steps forward on a long journey. Every so often, it begins when a major realization allows us to see ourselves in a new light.
Here are some of those success stories:
Succeeding Here Is About Your Freedom
When Vida Wright, Vocational Development Coordinator at The Mission, talks with someone starting in our Behavioral Health Program who has been incarcerated and is still striving to recover, the first thing she says is: “Succeeding here is about your freedom.” She quickly adds, “Once you succeed in this program, you will have many freedoms. It can be as simple as
I’ve Been Called a Lot of Things Before…But Role Model Wasn’t One of Them.
When Lenny Territo was in high school, he said, “I started using drugs, hanging out with the wrong crowd, then got in some serious trouble when I was 20, so I ended up in State Prison.” He paused, then said, “I’m sure you’ve heard that story a thousand times.” Then in 2007, he stopped using for over a decade. “I
My Destiny Is Being Here
Cleopatra Patterson came to her calling as a counselor in The Mission’s Behavioral Health Center through a circuitous route. She was “the baby girl,” the eighth of nine children raised by her mom, who was a single parent. “I grew up in the projects in North Trenton, and my mom did an amazing job,” Cleopatra said. “Our family was loving.
When I was finally arrested, I called it being ‘rescued’.
Gregory Kinash grew up in Egg Harbor City, with a foster mother who he adored. “She was my heart,” he said. “She was a beautiful woman. She was always there to listen and to talk to. She taught us responsibility. And gave us love. There were big gatherings during the holidays. She worked hard to make sure we had everything.
Giving Love to Our Neighbors Living on the Street
Our friend Michael Mancuso went out bright and early the other morning to photograph Chalia Perry and Jose Caraballo in The Mission’s Outreach van as they gave to people living on the streets hats that were hand-knitted by Anita Brady and her family and friends. Each of the nearly 200 hats, Anita shared, are created as a unique expression of
I’ve Had Enough Trouble. Now Is My Time To Shine.
Shamere Clyburn, who looks much younger than his 24 years, just cannot stop smiling. And as his smile lights up, people around him cannot help smiling back at him, as if asking, “What in the world are you smiling about?” There’s seems to be a sense of innocence around him that belies “the drugs I sold, catching distribution charges back-to-back,
