By Brenda Flanagan
Correspondent
“I know I’m going to confront a lot of obstacles and challenges,” said Edwin Ortiz.
Ortiz served 29 years for felony murder. When they finally walk free, Ortiz and other prisoners can struggle against other constraints — no place to live, no job, not even an ID.
“You know, being an ex-felon, having served almost three decades in the prison system, coming home, not having that work history — it’s going to be a little difficult,” Ortiz said.
Omari Atiba was convicted of homicide. “Like I said, being around the wrong people,” he said.
Atiba’s also served 29 years.
“At the age I am now — 50 — I still have fears. Because you coming out into a society that’s totally changed,” he said.
To increase their chances of making it on the outside, Atiba, Ortiz and scores of other soon-to-be-ex-cons commute daily from a halfway house to the Greater Newark Conservancy’s Prisoner Reentry Initiative. The program’s designed to help ex-prisoners hurdle those obstacles with work like landscaping, maintenance and construction. They get job and computer training.
“So, basically, just getting on the computer. I didn’t even know how to turn it on,” Atiba laughs.
“Our goals are ultimately to get people re-entered into society, hopefully a productive job and re-established with their family,” said Robin Dougherty, executive director of the Greater Newark Conservancy. She runs the conservancy program part of the large New Jersey reentry program it enrolled 530 clients state wide this year.
“Oh, this program is out of sight. They gave me a suit, gave me shoes, gave me everything for my job interviews,” said Warren Gore.
Gore served 26 years for drug conspiracy. He wants a job mentoring city teens.
“In order for the kids to get it, they have to have somebody they look up to and respect — somebody with some street cred,” he said. And you say basically you walked that walk. They will listen to you? “I know they will,” he said.
“You have a problem, you get to sit down and talk to a person like a human being. They really care,” said Maurice Valentine.
Valentine did 22 years, multiple stints behind bars. When he gets out next month, Valentine will work at ShopRite because the program helped restore his drivers license.
“Because all the jobs I applied for, they say you need a valid license. ‘We’re going to work on that, Mr. V’ and they worked on it for me and they came through,” he said.
New Jersey’s Reentry Corp today hosted Gov. Christie to observe National Reentry Week.
“In terms of our recidivism rate of our clients in all our sites, it’s only 19 percent, as opposed to a national average of over 65 percent of people going back into prison after three to five years,” said Jim McGreevey, chair of the New Jersey Reentry Corporation.
“We’re continuing a real human commitment that’s building a strong foundation to help ex-offenders assimilate back into society to lead productive lives, meaningful lives,” Christie said.
“I’m basically re-educating myself, learning more, getting myself prepared to be a citizen,” Atiba said.
As New Jersey reduces its prison population, former inmates come home — 1,700 a year in Newark alone. That makes programs like this one crucial.