Bishop's Annual Appeal

Bruce
Strickland

PATERSON  Almost three months after a five-alarm fire destroyed the 410 Straight St. building of Straight and Narrow (S&N) here, diocesan Catholic Charities has been in awe by the outpouring of support from the local community, the faithful and service organizations, who reached out in the midst of such a devastating loss.

Scott Milliken, CEO of Catholic Charities, said, “We want to thank everyone for their support. During the past several months, our phones have been ringing off the hook from those reaching out to help. We also thank Straight and Narrow’s sister agencies — Catholic Family and Community Services (CFCS) and the Department for Persons with Disabilities (DPD), for the assistance they have given to Straight and Narrow. We’ve witnessed how so many have come together during the time of such a disaster.”

The fire had displaced 50 men living in the halfway house. Among the men was Bruce Strickland, who was at the halfway house when the fire erupted. He lost everything he owned including a set of partial dentures. Through the kindness of a dentist in Paterson, the dentures are being replaced and in addition, Catholic Charities staff members have driven him more than two hours back and forth to the dentist. He has since returned home to Burlington County in southern New Jersey after completing the halfway house program on Sept. 15.

“I made a bad decision and that is how I ended up at Straight and Narrow. The N.J. Drug Court required me to go there, which helped me become a better person,” said Strickland. “At Straight and Narrow, I learned the main thing about addiction and recovery is that it’s a thought process. I had to change the way I thought. My life has been transformed by changing my whole thought process. Once you do that, good people come into your life.”

Now clean and sober for 17 months, Strickland is employed and moving on with his life. He is grateful to his family and friends, who never gave up on him. He is also grateful to the staff at Straight and Narrow and the other Catholic Charities agencies. He especially noted Scott Milliken’s support. “Scott has gone above and beyond for me and he’s a godsend,” said Strickland. “I’m just grateful because a lot of people in his position would forget (about people like me) but he’s a great and caring man.”

Under the theme, “For I was hungry…” S&N is one of the recipients of the 2019 Bishop’s Annual Appeal (BAA) allowing the faithful of the Paterson Diocese to help people like Strickland get their lives back together. S&N is the largest non-profit drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in the country.

The BAA will also support Catholic Charities agencies — CFCS and DPD — as well as seminarian education; urban elementary school support; priest’s healthcare needs and Nazareth Village, the diocesan priests’ retirement residence. Parishes can also benefit with the opportunity to receive a parish rebate. Half of the amount received over the parish goal is returned to the parish for its own needs. Almost $650,000 was returned to parishes from last year’s Bishop’s Annual Appeal and more than $2.9 million in five years.

Last year, more than $4.376 million was raised in pledges for the Bishop’s Annual Appeal and of that amount, $1.239 million supported the work of diocesan Catholic Charities. This year, because of the massive fire that destroyed the halfway house at Straight and Narrow, 10 percent of funds raised for the 2019 BAA will be used toward the rebuilding efforts in addition to the usual allocation Catholic Charities receives each year from the Annual Appeal.

At S&N, more than 60,000 people have been served since it opened its doors to the addicted more than 60 years ago. Today, the center operates short- and long-term men’s and women’s drug and alcohol treatment, a detox medical hospital, adult outpatient treatment, the Msgr. Wall Social Service Center for people struggling with opiated addiction, the Intoxicated Drivers Resource Center and the halfway house program for men participating in the N.J. Drug Court System. Due to the fire, men in the halfway house program are temporarily being housed in its Passaic facility.

In addition to drug and alcohol rehabilitation, S&N also offers a medical day care center for individuals with special needs, operates two low-income housing facilities in Paterson; has two early childhood education learning centers providing childcare to the children of Paterson’s low-income families and runs the Family Success Center, a community center providing services to individuals and families of Paterson and surrounding communities. The work that S&N does is vast in Paterson and beyond.

There are plans to rebuild on the 410 Straight Street site that will better and more efficiently serve those with addition. In-kind donations of toiletries and gently used clothing are still welcomed at CFCS’ Father English Center site. Volunteers are needed to help sort the donations already received.

“We thank Bishop Serratelli for his constant support and to those who support the Bishop’s Annual Appeal. Your help allows us to continue our work in helping those in need,” Milliken said.