TALBOT HALL RESIDENTS CREATE ART FOCUSING ON RECOVERY

West Caldwell, NJ August 31 -

Residents from Talbot Hall, CEC’s residential reentry facility in Kearny, New Jersey, are contributing their artistic talents to a special art project sponsored by the Drug Enforcement Administration, New Jersey Division, and the New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area in conjunction with the Partnership for a Drug Free New Jersey and the Governor’s Council on Alcoholism & Drug Abuse (GCADA). Art created by the residents will be exhibited in the show “Heroin Addiction Art Exhibition,” on view at the Gateway Center in Newark in August.

The powerful images created by three residents from Talbot Hall convey the overwhelming impact of drug addiction and the desire to be free from the disease and its consequences. An exercise in creativity, the artwork expresses feelings of torment and loss due to addiction. The purpose of the exhibit is to expose the horrors of heroin abuse in New Jersey and raise awareness through creative expression. Useful tools for treatment, creative exercises are often used as a means of confronting the realities of addiction and serve as a platform for facing fears. Creative expression helps clear the way to break addiction and go forward by “getting it out” using art resources. The talented Talbot Hall residents produced extraordinary artwork that speaks of the trials of breaking addiction and their desire for recovery.

The primary function of Talbot Hall is to conduct a comprehensive assessment and introduce the offender to a treatment program within a therapeutic environment. Talbot Hall focuses on substance abuse treatment within its extensive treatment program, which aims to return residents to society as productive, drug-free citizens. The facility accommodates 500 males from the New Jersey Department of Corrections.

CEC is the leading national provider of rehabilitative services for offenders in reentry and in-prison treatment facilities, as well as providing comprehensive management of county, state, and federal jail and detention facilities. The company provides evidence-based programming for residential and non-residential clients and maintains a documented record of reducing recidivism. CEC services also include SECON, a division that conducts comprehensive drug testing and screening services worldwide.