SHE'S ON HER WAY UP

Ask Michelle MacArthur what’s best about PROMISE (Program for Returning Offenders with Mental Illness Safely and Effectively) and she’ll give you a one-word answer.

Twice.

“Freedom,” Michelle, 39, says.

“Freedom,” she says again – her smile even bigger the second time.

Michelle, who will be honored at our annual Partners in Change event in October, is “a testament to how far people can go” in PROMISE, program director Richard White says.

PROMISE currently serves a total of 26 clients in variety of residential settings, including our halfway house and supportive living programs. This is the fourth year of PROMISE, the only program of its kind in the state and “dare I say, the country,” White adds.  

Born and raised in Jersey City NJ, Michelle still has the accent to prove it, despite living in what she describes as “the country” – a modest, well-kept townhouse in Sicklerville NJ she shares with another PROMISE client.

Michelle came into PROMISE via our Garrett House in Camden, NJ in August, 2008, following completion of a 90-day NJ prison term for a technical violation of her probation. She moved into the Sicklerville townhouse last December.

Like Michelle and her housemate, up to a dozen PROMISE clients can live independently in our townhouses in suburban Camden County, NJ. Annually, about 50 men and women referred to us by the NJ State Parole Board participate in PROMISE; statistics demonstrate that such clients are far less likely to commit additional crime than their peers who go directly back home after prison.

“Way back when this program was first being conceptualized, some observers had no expectations,” White says. “There were no expectations that the clients were going to be successful - because of the cycle of recidivism, and the cycle (of mental health crises) that can result in people going in and out, from the hospital to the jail to the prison back to the hospital.

“People thought there was no chance they were ever going to get clean (of drugs and alcohol),” he adds. “Nobody expected these people would ever have jobs. No chance.”

Michelle, who suffers from depression, previously worked in customer service and housekeeping (she’s also a CNA or Certified Nurse’s Aide). She recently was hired as a part-time staffer at a nearby privately owned boarding home for disabled individuals.

“It gives me a chance to help, and give back,” Michelle says. “I want to help people, and this job is a start. I think that’s where my heart lays – social work. Having a job where I’m going to help people go in the right direction.”

Ultimately, Michelle, who has four children ranging in age from five to 20, would like to live in her own home with her children.

“One of the things that I do admire about the PROMISE program is that they’re very supportive,” she says. “This program has allowed me to live where the rent is affordable, and I can stay here as long as I’m in compliance with the rules and regulations.”

Her journey “has been tough…even just to think about it makes me emotional,” Michelle adds. “I work through it by taking my medication, and by trying to stay motivated and doing positive things. A friend of mine says always ‘KIM’…keep it moving.”

Despite the struggle, Michelle describes herself as “happy, joyous and free” – a slogan from the 12-Step recovery program in which she is active.

“My goal and my promise to myself is to change the quality of my life,” she says. “Another goal is to go back to school to continue my education. And another is to get a driver’s license.

“I want to break the cycle,” Michelle declares. “It’s been a repeated cycle. And I want to break it…There has been a tremendous amount of fear in my journey. By walking through my fears I bear witness to many, many triumphs".