A new Manchester re-entry facility hopes to help formerly incarcerated men succeed. ‘We’re trying to save lives.’

A nonprofit organization that assists men returning from incarceration is expanding its reach, even as it celebrates the opening of its first residential adult re-entry facility.

Recognizing that individuals who were incarcerated are not always prepared or equipped to go back into the world, get a job, and more, the Second Chance Re-Entry Initiative Program, Inc.’s new re-entry facility aims to give the men the chance to be at a place where they feel comfortable and supported as they seek a new path, according to the organization.

The organization works with local and national social service and employment agencies and community development programs to provide former inmates with services such as job placement assistance, internships and lifelong career support.

The organization also works to raise awareness of traumatic experiences in urban communities and help people overcome issues that stem from incarceration, homelessness, unemployment, and racial injustices, officials said. An element of the organization’s work includes a program that helps participants develop life and professional skills for career advancement, while working toward personal responsibility.

SCRIP board member Marcus Stallworth said he supports the work of Executive Director Edward Andrews and the impact he makes on many in the community.

Benito Lugo, who has been out of prison for about eight months and is a part of the second class of SCRIP graduates, said he believes in the program and is proud to be a participant, and now also a facilitator to help others like himself.

“I’ve been incarcerated for 27 years, at the age of 19. You know, and trauma is a big, big issue. When we ask a lot of guys, when I was incarcerated, why do you keep coming back? Why do you keep coming back? It boils down to trauma. Undealt [with] trauma,” he said.

Lugo, who was 19 when he was first incarcerated in 1995, was serving a 40-year sentence for felony murder and then received a 12-year commutation from the state Board of Pardons and Paroles, according to the CT Mirror.

Lugo said he had heard about Andrews through others.

“I joined the program, and it’s been a blessing. It’s been a blessing,” he said.

Purpose Path Counseling Services owner Maria Jefferson, a licensed professional counselor, has been partnering with SCRIP for months and said that it has been an amazing journey.

As a trauma specialist, she said that Andrews’ program is important because it uses data and research instead of good intentions or best guesses to support reentry.

The program “draws on the expertise of researchers, clinicians [who] understand and work with trauma, and people with lived experiences to inform all of its practices,” she said. “And all of these voices working together are absolutely important … Many behaviors are typically attributed to character deficits, and poor decision making. And those are often trauma related.”

Jefferson said that helping previously incarcerated individuals to identify trauma triggers and strategies to cope and getting real treatment helps them in all aspects of life, including employment, relationships with family and their community.

“Helping individuals who have been incarcerated improve their overall well-being. [That] helps keep our community safer, because they are less likely to do something that may contribute to re-incarceration,” she said.

Thomas and Catherine Cabán-Cardona, founder of Tom Cat’s Place sobriety homes in Connecticut and New York, are collaborating with SCRIP for the residential adult re-entry facility.

The Cardonas’ facility at 89 Ridge St. will house three to five men in the first year. The number of participants will increase to six to 10 men in year two, through the SCRIP CARE program.

The program is designed for men who have no other place to live when they are discharged from a halfway house or who are homeless.

Many of the men who are accepted into CARE will also complete other programming and receive wraparound services, such as one-on-one trauma therapy, access to a nutritionist, a physical trainer, addiction services and financial literacy.

SCRIP will pay three months’ rent for each participant and provide food vouchers. After the third or fourth month, SCRIP will work with participants to obtain employment to allow them to pay for their own rent and food. Participants will also be asked to save a portion of their earnings to be deposited into a savings account that they can access upon completion of the program. Once successfully discharged from the CARE program, participants would receive support to obtain a room or apartment rental.

Andrews said he’s grateful to the community partners who have helped to make the new facility a reality, including the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving and the Hispanic Federation. He said that achieving it was a monumental moment in his life and his late mother would be so proud of who he has become.

“We’re trying to save lives. You’re trying to use our lived experience for others, so they don’t have to go through the same stuff we went through,” he said. “It’s not all about us having a heart to do this, but just having a gut, because we’re going to have some challenges with guys who are coming home, who think they just know, but we understand where they are trauma-wise. I’m happy to be here. We got a lot of work to do right there. This is just the beginning. This is the start.”