Autumn Years Summer 2023

gen facility. The feeling in the corridors has changed since the Passaic inmates arrived, Bon nie says, and there is no more space for the transition center. Now, upon release people are encouraged to come to the of fice, which is about two miles

When they are home, they enjoy their Italian greyhound Massimo, and their two turtles. She likes to relax with the music of Enya, Taylor Swift and Rihan na. “I tend to savor female entertainers, I respect them. They’re so talented and have gone so far,” she says. Bonnie wants her clients, the returning citizens, to go far, also, and notes that “This population is marginalized, and if we keep this stigma going they’re always going to be stigmatized.” Her empathy is also based on faith. “I am spiritual, I pray every night, or when I feel the need to. I believe in prayer, that there is a God. He or She has given me opportunities in life. If you don’t take it, well…” she trails off. “But if you are given an opportunity to fix it, why wouldn’t you? I believe God gave me these opportunities.” Now, she’s working to offer others the opportunities she has had at Transition Professionals: “I’m working to find some one to take over for me, someone with a deep passion to help people.” a

full-time. Between managing the shared office space build ing and Transition Profession als, “I always took on more than I could handle,” Bonnie says. “The fact was we were continuing to serve people. COVID was not going to stop

Bonnie with her son and daughter-in-law.

from the jail. In 2023, Transition Professionals was awarded a contract with the Depart ment of Corrections. “We will be visiting the prisons throughout the State of New Jersey to meet with people from North Jersey to let them know we can help when they are ready to come home,” she said. As Bonnie travels the miles from home each day, she knows that she and Rick “have to face that we’ll both be re tired at some point.” They will have time to enjoy their son, daughter-in-law and the granddaughters who “are everything to us.” Bonnie and Rick, a former pro fessional football athlete, have traveled to Ireland, Italy and almost every state.

them from going in and out of jail. We got interns and $263,000 in funding so we had to do what we can.” Interns stayed with the organization, and “my first full-time hire of a case worker was a former intern; our licensed social worker is a former volun teer. I like to go back to the well.” The staffers proved their value when Bergen County got a contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which ended in 2021. “That was challenging,” Bonnie says, because they were working with women who spoke ten different languages, no English. “But art has no language, so we were doing this.” She praises the jail, saying it is clean and very well maintained, that inmates can walk the corridors, and trusted prisoners have cooking privileges at the officers’ dining area. She also had been able to walk down those corridors, and jokes that while she doesn’t feel it, she’s been described as the “attractive elderly lady” by inmates. Replacing a building constructed in 1912, the current Bergen County jail was built about 20 years ago and was de signed to hold 1,100 prisoners. That num ber declined, partly due to bail reform. The jail population had gotten to about 200 or 300 people when Passaic County decided to close its jail, and since then its inmates have been absorbed into the Ber

TRANSITION PROFESSIONALS RE-ENTRY SERVICES 269 Passaic Street • Hackensack, NJ 07601 (201) 883-9360 www.transitionprofessionals.org https://www.facebook.com/Transition-Professionals-1461277674106347 “Empowering Second Chances” Programs and services are structured to produce positive outcomes among ex-offenders transitioning back into the community. The evidence-based programs and services are geared toward the overall improvement of each participant’s mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing. The center offers assistance in writing resumes, earning professional certificates and job searches. Inside the Bergen County Jail, the non-profit provides re-entry services, including job preparation and skills to manage in the world after release.

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SUMMER 2023 I AUTUMN YEARS