{"id":2264,"date":"2025-11-04T15:49:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-04T15:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shp.rutgers.edu\/annual-report\/?page_id=2264"},"modified":"2025-12-09T18:28:54","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T18:28:54","slug":"making-second-chances-possible","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/shp.rutgers.edu\/community-impact-report\/making-second-chances-possible\/","title":{"rendered":"MAKING SECOND CHANCES POSSIBLE"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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MAKING SECOND CHANCES POSSIBLE
\nLisa LaCon, Rehabilitation Counseling M.S. \u201908 and\nPsychiatric Rehabilitation Ph.D. \u201920<\/span>\n<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Lisa LaCon\u2019s experience with depression led her to pursue rehabilitation counseling and psychiatric rehabilitation at Rutgers School of Health Professions (SHP). Today, she co-leads a Newark-based nonprofit with her husband, Sean, that helps marginalized populations find pathways to employment and stability.<\/p>

\u201cAs a Black woman with a mohawk, I wasn\u2019t what people expected a scholar to look like. In many ways, I related to the stigma and shame my clients experienced,\u201d LaCon said. \u201cWhen I left the workforce to care for my children, I battled severe depression. Returning to work was part of my recovery\u2014it gave me purpose. Now, I want to offer that same opportunity to my clients.\u201d<\/p>

In recognition of her impact, LaCon received the Rutgers SHP Distinguished Alumni Award in 2022. She and her husband co-founded Blessed Ministries, Inc. (BMI), a $1.4 million nonprofit that partners with businesses to hire individuals facing barriers to employment, including people with disabilities, those previously incarcerated, and individuals receiving public assistance.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\u201cMy experiences at Rutgers shaped how I approach this work: with respect, empathy, and a nonjudgmental lens.\u201d

\u2014Lisa LaCon, Ph.D., CRC,\u00a0 \u201908 \u201820, Psychiatric Rehabilitation and Counseling
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The results speak for themselves: BMI clients have maintained a 70 percent or higher employment retention rate at 180 days. One man, formerly incarcerated for many years, logged 500 internship hours through BMI\u2019s Pathways to Recovery program, became a certified peer recovery specialist, and was still steadily employed 18 months later, supporting his family.<\/p>

LaCon recalls being nervous about returning to school for her master\u2019s degree after a decade at home with her children. \u201cI fell in love with the rehabilitation counseling program,\u201d she said. \u201cThe professors were so encouraging \u2014 they understood I wasn\u2019t a traditional student.\u201d<\/p>

That support inspired her to continue on for her doctorate, which deepened her expertise in working with people living with serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.<\/p>

\u201cWe serve very vulnerable populations who are too often stigmatized \u2014 people with disabilities, and those on parole or probation,\u201d she said.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MAKING SECOND CHANCES POSSIBLE Lisa LaCon, Rehabilitation Counseling M.S. \u201908 and Psychiatric Rehabilitation Ph.D. \u201920 Lisa LaCon\u2019s experience with depression led her to pursue rehabilitation counseling and psychiatric rehabilitation at Rutgers School of Health Professions (SHP). Today, she co-leads a Newark-based nonprofit with her husband, Sean, that helps marginalized populations find pathways to employment and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"elementor_header_footer","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2264","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shp.rutgers.edu\/community-impact-report\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2264","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shp.rutgers.edu\/community-impact-report\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shp.rutgers.edu\/community-impact-report\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shp.rutgers.edu\/community-impact-report\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shp.rutgers.edu\/community-impact-report\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2264"}],"version-history":[{"count":58,"href":"https:\/\/shp.rutgers.edu\/community-impact-report\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2264\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4251,"href":"https:\/\/shp.rutgers.edu\/community-impact-report\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2264\/revisions\/4251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shp.rutgers.edu\/community-impact-report\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}