Remembering Longtime NCC Resident Marilyn Watson

Michelle Lang — Thu, 02 May 2019 20:27:57 +0000

Marilyn Watson was a longtime 91��Ƭ resident. She passed away March 16. Photo courtesy of Samaya Holston.

Those who enter the Community Room at Associates see a tribute to Marilyn Watson, a longtime 91��Ƭ resident who passed away March 16 at the age of 70. A chair sits in the room with a teddy bear and a shirt with her name to remember the neighbor and friend who participated in so many building events.
The gesture touched Watson’s family members. Granddaughter Samaya Holston said she was shocked when she saw it.
“I didn’t think she had left such a mark at NCC,” Holston said. “And seeing that, I got emotional.”
Watson was a very active individual. She participated in Associates events and trips, including health education workshops and excursions to Walmart and restaurants.
“She was a good resident and a good person,” said Resident Services Coordinator Anne Moran.
Watson was born in Goldsboro, North Carolina in 1948. She later moved to Newark and graduated from West Side High School. She was married for more than 30 years to her late husband Robert Lee Watson. The pair had two children: Wayne Flanigan and Tonia Flanigan-Gunther. She had 13 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Holston said her grandmother was very energetic and talkative and she never missed an opportunity to take a bus trip, including to far places like Las Vegas and Georgia.
“We used to call her Queen Greyhound,” Holston said. “She was real adventurous. She didn’t just want to stay in the house.”
Watson loved to sing and dance. She was part of a singing group with her sister in the 1970s called the Singing Stars.
She had a career in nursing, working at a nursing home in Elizabeth. She had to retire early due to the progression of lupus, which ultimately led to her passing.
“She was always in pain but real active,” Holston said.
Watson was very social in her building and enjoyed going down to the Community Room often.
“She liked NCC housing,” Holston said. “Everyone knew her there.”

Better Life Engagement Center Helps Connect Homeless To Resources

Michelle Lang — Fri, 07 Sep 2018 19:01:03 +0000

Better Life Engagement Center Resource Specialist Adiba Saleem, left, has a meeting with Shahid Rashad, who is accessing services at the center and also volunteers his time to help with operations.

Imagine being homeless, unable to find permanent housing and getting frustrated with each passing day. That was the life of cancer survivor Christopher Mitchell who moved to New Jersey in April from North Carolina. At first he was paying for a place to stay with his disability money combined with his girlfriend’s income. But when the pair separated, he was unable to afford housing on his own.

Mitchell isn’t alone. There are many individuals without permanent housing in Newark who can benefit from additional help. The Better Life Engagement Center, located at 101 Fourteenth Ave., Newark, is now a resource for the homeless population.

The center opened July 18 and all who are experiencing homelessness are welcome. 91��Ƭ owns and manages the facility while Collaborative Support Programs of New Jersey (CSPNJ) runs the day-to-day operations of the Better Life Engagement Center, which takes up the first floor of the building.

From the day the center opened, it began helping those in need. In the first month, it provided services to 200 people and it now gets 35 to 40 visitors per day.

“There is a great need for services to the homeless population. We at 91��Ƭ are committed to helping the underserved and vulnerable and are happy to provide a space where people in need can come to improve the quality of their lives,” said 91��Ƭ CEO Richard Rohrman.

Visitors to the Better Life Engagement Center enjoy a game of pool, which is one of the recreational activities the center offers.

The Better Life Engagement Center helps visitors obtain documents like birth certificates and photo IDs. Staff members help visitors find permanent housing, search for jobs, write resumes and prepare for interviews with outfits and coaching. The facility also provides food, water and coffee daily for visitors. There is a TV in the eating area and a pool table for recreational activity. There is an outdoor patio with furniture so that visitors can eat outside when the weather is nice. The center also has a computer lab and library for visitors to use, as well as a fitness center. Staff members are able to be advocates for those who need it and are also able to refer individuals to detox if they request it.

Better Life Engagement Center Director Shareatha Webster said the goal of the center is to connect people to services that are in their community that they might not know exist. She said the facility is meant to be a safe, non-judgemental space for people to come to improve their situation.

“It doesn’t always mean that you’re going to have the white picket fence, but a better life is something that you didn’t have before that maybe you can have today,” Webster said. “Whether it’s a meal, whether it’s a job, whether it’s housing or whether it’s meeting a friend, to me, that’s a better life.”

Visitors to the center have had positive experiences and many now volunteer to help with operations.

Curtis Cottle, Kim Pickett and Kimberly James, left to right, work to assemble an elliptical machine for the fitness center at the Better Life Engagement Center. They live in a shelter in Newark and spend their days at Better Life, accessing services and helping the staff when they can.

Kimberly James comes to the Better Life Engagement Center every day. She and her partner Kim Pickett fell on hard times and are currently living at Helping the Homeless shelter on Mount Prospect Avenue in Newark.

“It’s like a safe haven,” James said of the Better Life Engagement Center. “Everybody’s friendly. They’re not afraid to intermingle with us. It doesn’t matter if you’re wearing the same clothes, if you were able to shower. And the staff is really great and helps us.”

Curtis Cottle is also staying at Helping the Homeless and introduced James and Pickett to the Better Life Engagement Center. He was referred to the center by the shelter and said he was welcomed with open arms.

“I highly recommend this place for anyone if they just need to come by to regroup, to have a glass of water, some tea. This place is very open and welcoming,” Cottle said.

Mitchell says the facility lives up to its name.

“It’s kind of cliché to say, but the moment I set foot in that door, I have experienced a better life,” he said.

Mitchell first saw the Better Life building before the center was operational. He was living at the Sussex House shelter on Sussex Avenue in Newark when he happened to walk by again and saw the doors were open. Staff members were able to help him secure permanent housing at 91��Ƭ Commons Senior, 140 South Orange Ave., Newark, and referred him to Catholic Charities, which helped get him the money for the security deposit.

“I was struggling so much the first four months. All the doors were slammed in my face,” Mitchell said. “I was praying for a miracle and I believe this was it.”

The Better Life Engagement Center operates with a director, a resource specialist and two wellness mentors, as well as volunteers. Its hours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, call 862-229-1400 or visit the facility at 101 Fourteenth Ave., Newark, NJ 07103.

North Carolina – 91��Ƭ

Remembering Longtime NCC Resident Marilyn Watson

Better Life Engagement Center Helps Connect Homeless To Resources