A Day In The Life
A Story Of Addiction
Author: Robert LaGuarina, Jr.
Date: August 9, 2021
I was driving the other day and stopped at a light when I noticed a man in a cemetery seated in a lawn chair with an umbrella over his head blocking the afternoon sun. In front of him was a headstone with fresh flowers; on his lap was an opened book, at his feet, a lunchbox cooler. He appeared prepared to spend the afternoon in the cemetery. The reality he was doing so at the final resting place of a loved one seized me. I didn’t realize I had totally missed the green light until the car behind me honked in irritation. I drove home thinking how all of us are someone’s child, perhaps someone’s parent, sibling, spouse. Every life is important. I repeat every life is important, and at My Friend’s House Recovery Centers, we save lives one visit at a time. We live it every day, and the following occurred a few weeks back.
No one is denied entry for financial reasons.
This effort to save one life shows how multiple law enforcement agencies, non-profit outreach organizations, and addiction treatment facilities can come together to save a fellow human being. For privacy purposes, I can’t reveal the name of the afflicted individual, but she is a highly educated person having earned a graduate degree and volunteered with front-line Emergency Medical Services (EMS). She has also been living on the streets off and on and struggling with addiction for more than three decades. We will call her CJ.
CJ first met Camden County Police Officer Colleen Doyle when Doyle was assigned to the Waterfront South foot patrol. Doyle had served in the Marine Corps for ten years with two deployments to Afghanistan, and one to Iraq. Doyle, a Purple Heart recipient and medically discharged, returned home to the family business as a fourth-generation Camden Police Officer. When Officer Doyle met CJ, she needed emergency life-saving treatment which Doyle facilitated. Shortly thereafter, they met again, and a bond formed.
Officer Doyle frequently encountered CJ around 6th Street and Carl Miller Blvd in Camden and brought her food and water. Conversations developed and Doyle offered to help CJ get treatment and get her off the streets. “There are a lot of women out here like that,” says Doyle. “Most look past these people like they aren’t even there.” Doyle furthered her chats with CJ always pushing towards treatment and maintaining that connection – then Officer Doyle broke her hand and out on leave for sixteen weeks.
CJ had another angel, Brenda Antinore, the Director of She Has a Name (SHAN), part of Seeds of Hope Ministries. SHAN specifically assists women who have turned to prostitution to support their addiction. Brenda has known CJ for more than ten years, brought her meals countless times, and has also worked with CJ with efforts to get her treatment. “Nobody wakes up one day and decides to derail their life,” says Brenda. “These women suffer miserably. They are riddled with shame and guilt. So broken and so hurting. Each time you go back to it, it takes you deeper than before.”
Officer Doyle returned to duty after her hand healed and sought out CJ. Their conversations resumed. CJ asked Doyle if she was serious about helping her. Doyle reinforced she was available for CJ twenty-four hours a day, and fellow Officers could reach Doyle at any time. Several weeks later, during a horrendous heat wave, a frantic CJ approached a Camden County Police Officer on foot patrol and asked where she could find Officer Colleen Doyle. The Officer offered to have Doyle brought to her. CJ, unwilling to wait, set out on her own walking more than forty minutes in the triple-digit heat index to find Doyle.
Officer Doyle, alerted to CJ’s need for help, kept an eye out. “She was in obvious crisis when we connected. They say, in addiction, all roads to lead to Camden, but there are very few leading out.” CJ expressed that she had been trying to get herself help all morning and getting nowhere. She appeared exasperated and defeated. Officer Doyle and her partner Officer Bridget Bermudez, seven months on the job and on the Community Impact Squad, took CJ to Project Hope, a non-profit organization which provides primary and preventive health care for Camden’s homeless. CJ was given a list of phone numbers of places to call which offered treatment options.
Two hours later, and their shift nearing an end, the Officers had yet to find a place that could take CJ. Fearing there might not be another chance if CJ returned to the streets, Doyle remembered a family connection who might prove of benefit but did not have a direct phone number. Officer Doyle reached out via Facebook Messenger to Carla LaGuarina, co-founder of My Friend’s House Recovery Centers, an outpatient addiction and mental health treatment program with locations in Woodbury Heights and Berlin and explained CJ’s situation.
From there, My Friend’s House coordinated the path to treatment for CJ utilizing seasoned professional, Recovery Coach Michelle Perez. Perez, who is accustomed to navigating the maze of addiction facilities and processes, was en-route to the Harrison Township Police Department as part of Gloucester County’s highly successful “Straight to Treatment” program when she got the call from LaGuarina. Perez pulled her car over to the side of the road to make notes and start her own set of phone inquiries. During this process, a Glassboro Police Officer pulled up behind her to make sure she was okay. Upon learning of Perez’s efforts to find a treatment center for CJ, the Glassboro Officer remained behind Perez protecting her vehicle from passing traffic until she continued to the Harrison Township Police Department.
Michelle Perez located a detox facility, Maryville Addiction Treatment Center, which could take CJ, but Maryville could not commence the intake process for another three hours. With Officers Doyle and Bermudez concluding their shift, and fearful CJ might leave for the streets without constant support, My Friend’s House Recovery Centers arranged for an Uber to transport CJ from Camden to the Harrison Township Police Department where CJ could remain with Recovery Coach Perez at “Straight to Treatment” until admission to Maryville.
The “Straight to Treatment” program is the miracle creation of the Gloucester County’s Prosecutor’s Office to help individuals suffering from drug misuse, addiction, and mental health issues. The program in Harrison Township was fostered under the auspices of Mayor Lou Manzo and Committeeman Adam Wingate inspired by the New Jersey State Attorney General’s program “Operation Helping Hand.” The “Straight to Treatment” program allows any individual in Gloucester County to walk into a Police Department and ask for help - no questions, no stigma, completely voluntary, and no insurance needed. My Friend’s House Recovery Centers works with seven of the eleven municipalities in Gloucester County and is a driving force in the treatment of addiction and mental health issues.
Perez enlisted the assistance of Officer Chris Foster, Harrison Township Police Department, who performed a background check on CJ. An outstanding warrant surfaced. In another example of law enforcement prioritizing the safety of an individual, Officer Foster worked with the Camden County Courts to have CJ’s warrant and subsequent court hearing postponed so CJ could focus on a treatment path first. “The warrant was minor,” says Foster, “We don’t wish to see red tape impeding someone in need of treatment. The ‘Straight to Treatment’ program offers a safe way for people who have been struggling with addiction for a long time to come in and get help. We put them on the right path to help themselves.”
Recovery Coach Perez remained with CJ at the Harrison Township Police Department and arranged for her dinner while waiting for admission to Maryville Addiction Treatment Center. “We talked. We cried. There’s a long road ahead. Thirty-two years on the street can’t be overcome in 5 days of detox, but it’s a start,” says Perez. My Friend’s House arranged for an Uber to transport CJ to Maryville and put together clothes, toiletries, and various sundries for CJ’s stay.
CJ left for five days inpatient treatment while My Friends House Recovery Centers reached out after hours via cell phone to Rich LaRusso and Carla Sweeney at Shoova House, to arrange a place for CJ to live while integrating back into a community. Shoova House operates ten residential homes to assist people struggling with substance use disorder rebuild their lives. “We refer our residents frequently to My Friend’s House,” says LaRusso, “Their mental health and addiction treatment services are known throughout the State. Addiction doesn’t exist in a vacuum. There are mental health reasons as to the why. Our organizations share a simple two-word philosophy. When it comes right down to it, ‘We care. We…..care.’”
A week later, CJ entered the front door of My Friend’s House outpatient treatment facility for the first time. We have a philosophy at My Friend’s House: one door in; one door out. The same door you enter struggling with addiction and other issues - is the same door you exit on your way to a healthier life. None of us know where CJ’s journey will take her. Recovery from addiction and mental health issues is rarely a linear path. One thing however is certain, the doors to My Friend’s House Recovery Centers are open to anyone regardless of one’s financial situation. We accept everyone, every day.
