'A more meaningful life': How one Brockton center focuses on treatment over punishment

BROCKTON – Over the summer, Jessica, 34, spent seven days in jail. Her mom had called the police on her after she had three warrants out for her arrest.

Jessica's addiction to cocaine is what got her there.

"I was addicted to drugs for 17 years," she said. "I've been to basically every detox facility in the state, but jail is when I quit cold turkey."

She started using heroin when she was 16 years old. Then, it was cocaine.

"When I started doing cocaine, I started spending time with more criminally related people, and that's when I started getting into trouble," she said.

Jessica, who asked that only her first name to be published, said jail was the first time in her life she was "forced to deal with the consequences of her actions."

Now, three months later, Jessica has turned her life around.

She has gotten her 90-day sobriety chip from her group in Alcoholics Anonymous – which she prefers over Narcotics Anonymous, despite not having an addiction to alcohol – she has a job and she's dedicated to staying on top of her treatment, she said.

"I always saw drugs as the solution, but I realized I want a more meaningful life," she said.

Jessica is a client at the Brockton Community Justice Support Center, one of 17 centers in the state providing services and support to people in the criminal justice system. She started her treatment in September, following her stint in jail.

"We serve adult-aged people, 18 years old or older, from people who have had brief run-ins with the law, all the way to people who have been federally convicted of crimes," Angela Orlandi, the program's manager, said.

Formerly called the Office of Community Corrections (OCC), the program used to only provide services to people convicted of crimes. However, the 2018 Criminal Justice Reform Act allowed for a "wider array of people to seek support and equitable treatment," said Vincent Lorenti, the director of community corrections at the Massachusetts Probation Service.

Tony, 26, a Brockton man who now lives in Fall River, is also a client at the center. He also requested that The Enterprise only publish his first name.

In April, Tony was charged with operating under the influence of alcohol and his license was revoked. In August, after a warrant was issued for his arrest, he was given a choice.

"They said, 'You can either go to OCC or go to jail – take your pick,'" he said. "Now, I'm here, taking classes, learning life skills about family management and lifestyle and eating habits."

Tony's story is similar to many others in the state.

"Judges will offer to put OCC in the conditions of a person's parole or probation," Orlandi said. "Or, in some cases, if people are sentenced, a judge will offer for them to receive treatment from a center instead."

'Learning life lessons from the elderly'

Both Tony and Jessica have jobs working with the elderly. Both are caretakers and Jessica works at an assisted living facility.

"Talking to the elderly, making connections with the women there, it puts a smile on my face," Jessica said. "It feels nice knowing people need my help and that I can comfort them."

She works at the reception desk and also manages a group of 16- and 17-year-old girls who make up the waitstaff at the facility.

"I'm living paycheck to paycheck, but I'm learning how to be independent," she said. "I'm saving up to buy a car."

Tony said his favorite part about working at his job, where he has been a caretaker for two years, is the life lessons he's learned from the elderly.

"The best piece of advice I've gotten is knowing that 'you can only control what you can control, everything else is out of your hands,'" he said. "I like learning about what their lives were like when it was the '60s and '70s."

Tony is in the pre-trial phase of his case. A judge has ordered him to do a breathalyzer test four times a day to hold him accountable.

Since his license was revoked, Tony commutes to the center by Uber daily "to be more responsible."

"I don't want to drive until I'm told I can by the court," he said.

Center reopening

Brockton's Community Justice Support Center reopened Dec. 7, after being closed and virtual due to the pandemic and end-of-lease contracts. It is backed by the Old Colony YMCA. The center, which was previously located in downtown Brockton, is now on Torrey Street – where there is ample parking and enough space for all 40-plus clients who seek treatment there.

It is spacious. Clients are greeted at the entrance by Michelle Phillips, administrative coordinator for the center, before heading off to one of three classrooms to learn important life skills. A typical day for many who come in person to the center consists of classes, career counseling in the computer room, or receiving cognitive behavioral treatment and trauma therapy from one of many clinicians.

Next door is the Old Colony Y's Comprehensive Counseling, a fully-licensed mental health clinic for children and families, but it is also available to clients at the center.

If clients arrive on time for their classes, they are rewarded with a candy – which is the first of many steps of their PAMI program, which range from small to jumbo size prizes based on different tasks they are able to accomplish.

"PAMI stands for 'Promoting Awareness of Motivational Incentives.' It's scientifically proven that low-cost reinforcement (prizes, vouchers, clinic privileges, etc.), promotes higher rates of treatment retention and abstinence from drug abuse," Lorenti said.

Both Tony and Jessica say it's their favorite part about the center.

'It's like God is testing me'

In her first two of the three months at the center, Jessica was living with her now ex-boyfriend.

"He's also a user and would use in front of me every day," she said. "It was disrespectful since he knew I was in treatment and couldn't use."

One day, she woke up and found a crack pipe by her bedside.

"It took everything in me to not give in to my cravings. It's like God is testing me," she said. "But I didn't give in. I told him to go."

Jessica said she filed a harassment case against him with the courts and kicked him out of her apartment.

"It's really hard because I know he's out there on the street by himself," she said.

"Many people are hesitant at first to come to the center for treatment," Orlandi said. "But some of my favorite memories over the years of working in this field is going to recognition ceremonies, where graduates of Recovery Court are recognized for their hard work in getting sober and staying out of trouble."

"You can't get clean until you're ready, and I'm ready," said Jessica, who was named "Client of the Month" after showing up on time and putting in the work with her assignments.

"For the first time, I'm putting Jessica first."

Staff writer Namu Sampath can be reached at nsampath@enterprisenews.com, or you can follow her on Twitter @namusampath. Thank you, subscribers. You make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Brockton Enterprise.

This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Brockton: Community Justice Support Center offers treatment, therapy