Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is scheduled to appear beside New Jersey Governor Chris Christie at the opening of a new prisoner re-entry facility in Jersey City, New Jersey on Monday.
Joining Christie and Pelosi will be former governors Jim McGreevey and Tom Kean, gathered to celebrate the grand opening of the center designed to help ex-offenders kick addiction and learn coping skills in order to lead law-abiding lives after prison.
McGreevey, the executive director of the Jersey City Employment and Training Program, says Martin’s Place was needed to help convicts turn their lives around.
“These are persons who have literally bottomed out and understand that without recovery, without transitional housing, without work, their lives will wind up in one of two places: prison or death,” McGreevey told the Associated Press.
The center is the first of its kind and will operate in collaboration with the Hudson County Correctional Center.
In a statement, Representative Pelosi said she was honored by the invitation “to join in recognizing the exceptional work of Governor McGreevey. His work in lifting people up is important and the people he serves are to be respected.”
“We are creating a national prisoner re-entry model here in Jersey City and know that having a center where participants can receive the necessary resources and support is critical,” Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop said. “This will be a site of transformation for the lives of many and a place where those seeking a second chance will be welcomed and encouraged each step of the way.”
Fulop, U.S. Senator Robert Menendez, and NAACP National President Cornell Brooks will also be in attendance.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.
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