{"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<\/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}]}}