CollegeLEADS at Bergen Community College is a partnership with the Bergen Volunteer Center, established to ignite the spirit of civic engagement and the exploration of issues facing Bergen County. Twenty (20) Bergen Community College students began a semester-long look at the issues surrounding heroin addiction and abuse in Bergen County. Four seminars, legal and criminal, mental health, physical health and education will be the focus of the students’ program.
On Friday, February 3rd,
the students visited the Bergen County Jail and the Housing, Health and
Human Services Center. They toured the jail, met with corrections
officers, inmates, and a rehabilitation counselor to take an in-depth look
at the corrections process. Visiting the shelter brought light to the
Housing First approach to dealing with homelessness. The goal is to
place individuals who are homeless in housing and provide the support
services to ensure that the placement is permanent.
One student reflected on her visit, “Before
we had time to feel shocked or express criticism towards those
officials, they explain that the job is rather frustrating, allowing us
to step into the shoes of the younger officials. I find this rather
rare, having always seen a spirit of criticism in the workplace. Here,
it is as if the older officials take care of both the younger ones and
the inmates. It wasn't in a showy way, but every step they took was
calculated and done with great compassion.”
To learn more about youth engagement click here.
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