fter working for many years with various prison programs and seeing too many inmates wind up
A back behind bars, Jack’ 58 and Julie McCarthy decided to try something new.“ We came up with the concept of Dismas Home because it has been successful in 20 states. It was begun by a Catholic priest and some students at Vanderbilt University. There is no central organization; each one is responsible for running and funding itself and so each is somewhat different,” writes McCarthy.
They approached the president of St. Anselm College in Manchester, NH, Dr. Stephen DiSalvo. They bonded over baseball, borough parishes, and Catholic Colleges. After several discussions, they decided to devote the Dismas house to helping the women in a nearby state prison.
“ Our first home is small. It was provided by Catholic Charities at no rent but required a lot of renovation
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Jack and Julie McCarthy with their
Great Dane therapy dogs, Erin and Tara.
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• Medical care provided by Catholic Medical Center
• Food and culinary training provided by Catholic
Charities
• Money management and budget training from St. Mary’ s Bank, and
• Drug and Alcohol counseling by Hope for New Hampshire.
Reflecting on his own life, McCarthy says transferring to St. Francis College from Syracuse University was the best move he ever made.
“ The Franciscan Brothers I experienced, one of whom taught my father, were disciplined, but loving. They were demanding in the classroom and wanted you to be successful, even Bro. Roger Nagle who knocked me on my butt more than once on the basketball court. From them, I learned most of the principles I have carried though a successful business career and an adventurous life, and I learned to lean
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work. We will accommodate up to seven women at a time. We estimate the average stay to be five to seven months before they are ready to strike out on their own. Most of the women will most likely have addiction issues and many will be single mothers.” Among the services Dismas Home will provide:
• A safe, warm, loving environment
• Meals prepared by volunteers from the United Council of Churches
• Volunteers who join them at meals to create a family atmosphere
• Tutoring and computer literacy by students from St. Anselm
• Jobs with opportunities to grow through an alliance with an employment agency
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on my faith to get me though the rough times. Those men, those wonderful teachers left an indelible mark on my heart and my future.”
Known as JB while at St. Francis, he said that many of his lifelong friends started out as classmates and fraternity brothers.
Now, with the first house renovated and ready for guests, Jack and Julie are planning to establish Dismas Homes near several New Hampshire colleges or universities.
“ I never thought that when I’ m reaching 80 years old, I would be the CEO of a non-profit. Actually, I’ m not. God is. He has guided us every step of the way.”
Learn more at DismasHomeNH. org. ●
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