Talbot Hall Celebrates Black History Month

West Caldwell, NJ March 12 -

Talbot Hall, a 500-bed assessment and reentry center in Kearny, New Jersey, celebrated Black History Month on February 20th with a day of performances that acknowledged several international pioneers who made important historical contributions. Tiffany Jeffers, Lead Assessment Counselor, hosted the event and organized the large group of resident performers. Speaking to the several hundred residents and staff in attendance, Ms. Jeffers said, “This is a chapter in your book, it does not define you.”

The day’s theme was the creation of inspirational signs that focused on a historical individual or event. Three units at Talbot Hall, Tranquility, Serenity and Harmony, read poetry, performed reenactments and quoted the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., U.S. President Barack Obama, Harriet Tubman, and Nelson Mandela. Performances included skits about the Buffalo Soldiers, the Tuskegee Airmen and the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

“To be a criminal is not a disgrace, but to remain a criminal is a disgrace,” said Arthur Townes, Director of the Alumni Association.

Mr. Townes reminded the residents that lives can be changed and there are many members of the alumni association now living crime and drug free lives. Members of the Alumni Association also read poetry and shared their powerful message of recovery gained through their experiences using the tools provided to them at CEC reentry centers.

Talbot Hall provides rehabilitative services to offenders referred from the New Jersey Department of Corrections (NJ DOC). At Talbot Hall residents are assessed for their level of risk for re-offending and reentry treatment needs before the NJ DOC refers them to a Residential Community Release Program. Services include the completion of a core treatment curriculum focused on addiction and recovery, REBT, common thinking errors by offenders, and strategies for improved communication and problem solving.

Community Education Centers, Inc. (CEC) is the leading provider of offender reentry and in-prison treatment services in America, operating in 17 states and the Commonwealth of Bermuda. CEC provides a full range of therapeutic residential and non-residential reentry services with a documented record of reducing recidivism.