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[MOTIVATIONAL MUSIC] - Hi, everyone.

Steve Adubato.

We kick off the program with an important conversation with an important not-for-profit leader.

Barrett Young is the CEO of the Trenton Rescue Mission.

Barrett, good to see you.

- Good to see you, Steve.

- Website's up.

Tell everyone what the organization is and the people you serve.

- Sure, the Rescue Mission of Trenton is an organization that's been in the Trenton community for over 100 years.

We serve the homeless population.

We also serve those in need of addictions treatment, and we also have just under 50 units of housing that we own and operate.

- Your history of the organization is interesting.

Your mom, the previous CEO.

You grew up in this organization?

- I did, I've worked at the Rescue Mission for a little over 20 years.

I'm 42 years old, and I literally like to say to people that I was literally born and raised at the Rescue Mission.

My mother was the executive director for almost 40 years.

- My dad started a not-for-profit in Newark back in 1970.

My sister runs that not-for-profit.

Sometimes not-for-profit service runs in our blood.

Let me ask you this.

Describe, Barrett, the need as you see it for the services that you provide, particularly for people who are homeless.

- You know, Steve, the need for services, unfortunately, has never waned.

And as we moved through and out of the pandemic, the need for services has just grown in our community.

People are just scraping by, and it's very, very hard for them to get by right now.

And so the need for services and the need for what we do has never been greater.

- Now, I wanna talk about public attitudes toward people who wind up homeless, combined with government policy as it relates to people who wind up homeless.

First of all, to what degree do you believe most people, we're not a monolithic people, we're a diverse population, however, people have strong views.

- Right.

- Do you believe the degree of empathy and compassion for those who are homeless has waned over the years?

- I think that there's unfortunately been been a stigma that's begun to get attached to those that are homeless.

I think a lot of folks don't understand the struggle that these folks go through.

You know, I like to say to a lot of people that in the history of education, not one kid has ever filled out in their first grade application of, what do they wanna be when they grow up?

Not one person has ever filled out that I wanna be homeless, I wanna be an addict, or I wanna be a criminal.

And I think we have started to lose that understanding that no one chooses this life.

Unfortunate circumstances lead people to these dire straits, but no one chooses this life.

- So let's talk about the United States Supreme Court.

United States Supreme Court rules that, basically based on a community, I believe, out in Oregon.

Is it Oregon?

- Yes.

Yep, yep.

- They brought a case that went all the way to the United States Supreme Court, and if I'm wrong, you'll correct me, Barrett, that ultimately had the court declaring, deciding, defining homelessness as a criminal act, that homelessness has been criminalized.

- Correct, correct.

- A, how the heck do you think that even happened?

B, what are the implications of it?

- A, how it happened, I think we could have a whole 'nother day's conversation on how that happened.

I think, you know, the Supreme Court's decision is mind blowing to me, to criminalize.

- Why?

Why mind blowing?

- Just to criminalize someone for being homeless is just, is as, it's just, it's absolutely mind blowing to me that you're in a situation where you have nowhere else to turn and now it can be criminalized and you can be fined.

You can be punished up to being in jail.

Where's the humanity?

Where's the service?

Where's the help in any of that?

We, the day that the case was being held at the Supreme Court, we held a panel discussion here at the Rescue Mission with homeless folks and talked about how the criminal justice system can and will affect you if you're homeless if this case came to pass.

And one of the gentlemen on the panel said it the best I've ever heard it said.

He said, "I've been housed for five years, but I've been clean, sober, and in recovery for my mental health for the last four years."

And then he says, "Without my housing, I could have done none of it."

And so if you start to then add on all these layers of criminality, fines, jail time, it just is unbelievable.

The question is, I guess in my mind, comes to, "What's next?"

If you can now be criminalized for being homeless, what's next in this country?

What's the next thing that can be criminalized?

- Just remember, a community, a group of community leaders, folks in the community brought this case.

So it wasn't like the Supreme Court looked for this case.

This case was brought to the Supreme Court by a community.

I've gotta believe that's not the only community that would have done something like this.

And it's not the law of that community now.

It's the law of the land.

- Correct, it was Grants Pass out in Oregon is who brought it.

And now it's made it the law, you know, and it just is, it's unbelievable to me and to my fellow constituents who work in this field to think that what we're doing, the people now we're trying to help can now be criminalized for being homeless.

It's- - Barrett, what...

I'm sorry for interrupting.

What is the New Direction Program, and what impact have you had with it in Trenton?

- Sure.

- By the way, to be clear, Trenton is our, we're a New Jersey based operation.

New Jersey programming, primarily.

Our state capital.

- Correct.

- The New Direction Program in the community of Trenton.

Describe it.

- So our New Direction Program is a program that I founded along with Chef Jeff Henderson, who's a chef from Las Vegas who did federal prison time.

He and I founded this program three years ago.

What it is, is a program that is designed to take individuals who are in our Behavioral Health program who have addiction, mental health, and criminality and we try to impress upon them during this six-week program that the way of their past isn't gonna define where their future's gonna go.

And we have subject matter experts come in from all over the country to teach them and show them how to be resilient, how to build a plan for yourself, how being a criminal doesn't define you into your future.

And we've had some tremendous success with the program thus far.

82% of our individuals who have gone through the program, they take an optimism test at the beginning of the program, and at the end of the program, 82% of them have a higher optimism score about their future after they finish the program.

66% of our graduates have obtained employment and kept employment, which is in comparison to about 30 to 35% of our program participants in our Behavioral Health Unit.

- Important work being done in our state capital in Trenton.

Barrett Young and his colleagues at the Trenton Rescue Mission.

Their website has been up so you can find out more.

Barrett, thank you so much for joining us.

You are making... We've been doing a series for 20-plus years called "Making a Difference."

You and your colleagues making a difference every day.

Thank you, Barrett.

- Thank you, Steve.

- You got it.

Stay with us, we'll be right back.

To watch more Think Tank with Steve Adubato, find us online and follow us on social media.

- We're now joined by Jen Da Silva.

who's Director of Operations at North Star Academy.

Good to see you, Jen.

- Thank you, thank you for having me.

- This is part of an ongoing series, "Urban Education That Works."

Why does it work?

What are the keys to it and what can we learn from it?

Jen, clarify this for us, North Star Academy is tied to Uncommon Schools, which that's the umbrella?

- Yes, North Star Academy is tied to Uncommon Schools.

We are one out of five regions, there are 54 schools in total, and there are 14 schools in Newark itself.

- And we're doing this programming with the support of the New Jersey Children's Foundation.

- Yes.

- Their website will come up as well.

Let me ask you this, describe what's going on at North Star Academy and what about it makes it "work?"

- I mean, I think one of the amazing things that we've seen out of the last school year is that the results that we are seeing is that North Star Academy is outperforming the state in the NJ slate results that we've seen.

16% in ELA, 11% in our math.

- ELA?

- In English language arts.

- Okay.

- And 11% in math.

And so what we're seeing is that what we're doing in our classrooms is working, and we're really excited coming out of our post-COVID era.

- And North Star Academy is a charter school, to be clear?

- Correct.

- Tell everyone who hears the term charter school, Jen, but may not know exactly what that is.

- Charter schools are public schools.

So our families simply fill out an application in the Newark Common App, and they rank North Star as their number one school, and as soon as we have a placement for them, they come to our school.

So it is a free and public school.

- Do this for us, talk to us about you have "an alumni team" from North Star.

Who are these alums and how are the impacting the students in a positive way?

- The amazing thing that we have is that we have alum that come back to teach in our schools.

And so we have great teachers, not only that come to us every single day, but we have teachers that are coming back that were once our students.

They're coming back to serve in our community as well.

Once they go off to college, they come back to serve.

- So there's a couple of the other things that make, not just your test results better, but also in terms of the students who come through North Star, talk about their prospects in terms of their future in education, meaning college.

To what extent, what's our track record going to college and what kind of colleges are we talking about?

- We have a fantastic college team that work with our students and work with our families and to ensure that they know what we have available, that work with our students to ensure they're not taking on a massive college debt.

We have students who are going off to college with less than $5,000 in debt.

And so they work with our students to ensure that they're getting into the top colleges, that they're not taking on massive amounts of debt, they work with their families to ensure that they're completing the FAFSAs, that they're working on getting these amazing scholarships that are out there, that are available, so they end up going off to college.

And then the amazing thing that North Star also provides, Steve, is that we have an amazing alumni team that work with our students.

So once they're off at college, they're not just like forgotten about.

We have teams on the ground that talk to kids at school, making sure that they're getting along at the colleges that they're going off to, that they're being supported once they're at colleges.

So that way they also have a sense of community once they're off at these colleges.

Sometimes they're in California, they're off in Nevada, they're far away from home, but they still have that sense of community and they're still feeling supported even when they're far away from home.

- Jen, who are your students?

- Our students are amazing kids.

Our students are students that come from maybe low income, Black and Latino students, but they're students that have amazing potential and they're being supported by our amazing teachers.

And it's coming out in the test results that all they need is a little bit of love, and all they need is someone who supports them and who shows that they really can go above and beyond when we have the amazing teachers and the work that goes behind them, and it's coming out in our test results.

- So, Jen, for those critics of charter schools who say, "You know what?

Charter schools," and to disclose, my dad, the late Steve Adubato Sr. started one of the first charter schools in the state of New Jersey, the Robert Treat Academy, where my sister Teresa was later a principal there, and I'm very tied to the Robert Treat Academy.

The argument that I heard then, I still hear now from some is, "Charter school's cherry pick kids."

Meaning they get the, I don't wanna say the best kids, I don't even know what that means, but more motivated parents.

At the Robert Treat Academy there's a lottery, right.

And again you said, as soon as there's space, you don't take every kid, you only take certain kids.

So of course the test scores are higher.

And of course they're performing better, you say.

- Yeah, we've heard those arguments as well.

And that's just not the case.

When a family fills out an application, we have no idea the students that are coming to us.

We have students that are English language learners, we have students that are special education students, and we serve all students, any and all students that come through our doors, we are committed to them.

Not just to their students, but to our families, because that's just the commitment that we make to the city of Newark and to all students that cross our doors and to all of our families.

That's just not true, because once families complete the application, we have no idea who they are when they come through our doors.

- Gimme a few seconds, before we talk about the QuestBridge Scholarship.

I wanna talk about "Urban Education That Works."

That's this series.

What is the role of parents in helping their children succeed in urban schools?

- I mean, it's a deep partnership because we understand that we can't do one without the other.

And so they're entrusting us with their most prized possession, and we spend a large chunk of the day with their students.

And so when our families entrust our students, or their students to us come kindergarten, they know that it's a partnership.

And so they know that they also have their commitment to us and to our teachers and to the leaders until 8:00, 9:00 PM.

They have our cell phone numbers.

They can reach out to us at any time.

And if they have any questions regarding homework, regarding something that's going on in the school community, they simply reach out to us and they can ask us any questions.

It's a partnership, it is an open communication, open lines, and it's that kind of two-way street, that partnership communication that really drives us far and entrusts that communication with our families that really, it just makes it work with our families.

And I think that when our families come to us, they know that we are committed to them, and they know that we are open to them, and that we are here for their students, and that we are here to make it work with them.

- Jen, as we wrap up, gimme 30 seconds on the QuestBridge Scholarship.

What is it?

- Yes, QuestBridge Scholarship is a scholarship that our students are able to apply to.

And once they are applied to, we had seven students this past year that got full ride scholarships to the college of their choice.

And students are going to the University of Chicago, to Amherst, it's for amazing colleges that are fully paid for all four years.

Jen Da Silva, director of Operations at North Star Academy.

Thank you, Jen, all the best.

- Thank you, Steve.

- Go back on vacation.

You're in Portugal, okay.

You don't always have to.

We're glad you joined us, now enjoy yourself.

- Thank you so much.

- I'm Steve Adubato, that's Jen Da Silva from Portugal.

We'll see you right after this.

To watch more Think Tank with Steve Adubato, find us online and follow us on social media.

- We're pleased to be joined by Lisa Dressner, who's Vice President of Behavioral Health and Psychiatry at Trinitas Regional Medical Center.

Good to see you, Lisa.

- Good to see you also, Steve.

- You got it.

And also, let's make the connection.

You are tied, there's a Rutgers affiliation, there's an RWJBarnabas Health Affiliation, correct?

Lay that out for us.

- Yes.

Yes, so Trinitas integrated with Rutgers, RWJBarnabas Health, and we are part of the largest academic healthcare institution now in the state of New Jersey.

- Got it, and to disclose, RWJBarnabas Health is a longtime underwriter of public broadcasting and the Caucus Educational Corporation.

Let me ask you this, what's so interesting to me is that the issues that you face every day that the patients you deal with every day.

It appears that the mental health issues, behavioral health issues is more challenging than ever before.

Talk to us about exactly the services you and your colleagues provide and why it's so critically important now.

- So Trinitas has a vast continuum of services, both inpatient and outpatient for children and adults.

And we have been providing these services for many, many years and have really been committed to identifying what the particular needs are of the city of Elizabeth where we're located, Union County, and also the statewide needs.

So, you know, particularly around people who have co-occurring developmental disabilities and mental illness, that has been an area that we've been very committed to since the 90s and is part of the continuum of services that we provide here.

- What is the New Jersey Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities?

What is it?

And talk about the folks you serve every day.

- Sure.

So as part of the continuum of care that we provide for people with co-occurring intellectual disabilities and mental illness, we had 10 beds, 10 inpatient beds for this population for many, many years.

And it just wasn't enough.

There were emergency rooms that were holding patients for days and sometimes weeks for one of the very few beds that were available for this population in the state.

So we saw that.

The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey very generously supported our expanding the number of beds that we have for this population.

And so we were able to open 12 additional beds with their support and started operating those 12 additional beds last September.

- And in fact, the formal name is The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey, Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities, correct?

- Correct.

- So let's talk about this.

New Jersey has the third highest rate of autism in the nation.

One in 34 children.

Is there something about New Jersey and this high autism rate?

- I don't know if it's something about New Jersey.

It certainly speaks to the efforts in New Jersey that have been undertaken for many years now to more aggressively assess children and to be able to identify those kids that do need intervention and treatment.

So I think we've done a better job with assessing that, especially in those communities that were typically underserved.

So, you know, the research is showing trends upwards for New Jersey, but we have to remember that we have made tremendous progress in New Jersey, focusing on getting better services around assessing young children to get them the treatment they need.

- Lisa, talk about the training of your staff.

What does the training look like, and why does the training matter so much in terms of providing the services needed to the patients and the families you serve?

- Sure.

Working health in behavioral healthcare is really a calling and working with this population is really a special calling.

We have been very fortunate here at Trinitas.

We've had the same doctors working with this population in our inpatient and our outpatient units for over 15 years.

We have a team that is very committed to understanding the specialized needs of this population.

We have a psychiatry residency program here, so our residents have the experience of learning, working on these inpatient and outpatient units with people with a dual diagnosis of intellectual disabilities and mental illness.

It really calls for certain skills that are above and beyond what you get in a general psychiatry rotation.

- Such as, Lisa?

- Such as really being able to look at the whole person in their environment.

So we are really looking at what is happening environmentally for this person.

Are they living at home?

Was there a change in the family structure?

Did they move to a new group home setting?

Did they get a new roommate?

Were there staff changes?

Looking at behaviors and really identifying patterns of behavior and changes in behavior and being able then to look at, you know, the more traditional assessment in terms of medical conditions that we very often see that go along with having a developmental disability and the psychiatric component.

So it's not as simple and clear cut as I have a symptom, what is the best medication?

It's really looking at all of these things and being able to take a whole systems approach to understanding what would be best to help this person to reach their optimal level of functioning.

- How did you find yourself to this work?

How did you get to be where you are and why?

- I was very fortunate.

I always knew that I was going to wind up in this field.

I found myself at Trinitas years ago.

I came in as the director of Psychiatric Emergency Services.

Steve, actually, you were here at that time doing your leadership.

- I was doing leadership development and I remember you.

- I was in one of your classes, yes.

- And you're even better, not because of it, in spite of it, but go ahead.

(Steve chuckles) - I owe it all to you, Steve.

- I knew I knew you.

Okay, so you came through the system, but your passion for this work comes from where?

- You know, I have always been really a curious learner and wanting to understand people and systems.

I actually started my undergraduate career more in politics, and I met a lot of people working for Governor Florio when he was the governor, and met a lot of the colleagues and mentors that I have in healthcare that continue today through that experience.

- Lisa Dressner, not only is a former student who's done very well in spite of my teaching leadership, she's the vice president of Behavioral Health and Psychiatry at Trinitas Regional Medical Center.

Lisa, thank you so much for joining us.

We appreciate, keep doing important work.

- Thank you, thanks for having me.

- You got it.

I'm Steve Abubato.

Thank you so much for watching.

We'll see you next time.

- [Narrator] Think Tank with Steve Adubato is a production of the Caucus Educational Corporation.

Celebrating 30 years in public broadcasting.

Funding has been provided by New Jersey Children’s Foundation.

NJM Insurance Group.

New Jersey’s Clean Energy program.

The North Ward Center.

PSEG Foundation.

The Fidelco Group.

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

And by Citizens Philanthropic Foundation.

Promotional support provided by The New Jersey Business & Industry Association.

And by NJ.Com.

The North Ward Center continues to expand their services and outreach in Newark, from the childhood years to the golden years, Offering programs like preschool, youth leadership development, Casa Israel Adult Medical Day program our Family Success center, as well as a gymnasium.

And most recently Hope House, a permanent home for adults with autism, supporting and nurturing our autism community with Hope House 2 coming soon.

The North Ward Center.

We’re here when you need us.