Kids & Family

Wife Fears For Husband In Newark Halfway House Amid Coronavirus

Here's what it's like being married to someone living in a halfway house during the COVID-19 outbreak, a New Jersey woman says.

A New Jersey woman is accusing a halfway house in Newark of not taking proper coronavirus precautions for residents.
A New Jersey woman is accusing a halfway house in Newark of not taking proper coronavirus precautions for residents. (File Photo: Shutterstock)

NEWARK, NJ — Ever since the new coronavirus began spreading across New Jersey, Evelin White has been alternating between fear and anger. But that’s what it’s like being married to someone living in a halfway house during a viral outbreak, she says.

Earlier this week, White – a 31-year-old Paterson resident – reached out to Patch with a message of concern for her husband, who is currently living at Tully House, a residential reentry facility on Peerless Place in Newark.

White said that her husband – a “hardworking family man who loves his children” – is serving time at the facility until at least July due to a parole violation.

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“He's kind, compassionate, honest and wants nothing more than to be home with his loved ones,” White said.

And that’s just one reason why she wants action taken at Tully House.

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According to White, the facility isn’t taking proper precautions when it comes to protecting residents from COVID-19. The alleged issues include forcing them to attend programs with dozens of other residents packed into one room, with “half of them coughing.”

“In reality, all they are doing is passing a piece of paper around the building for you to sign saying that you weren't in contact with anyone who had the virus,” White charged. “They don't give them cleaning supplies, they can't have hand sanitizer, people in there are sick but say it's a cold because they don't want to get sent back down state.”

White accused staff of neglecting to take residents’ temperatures and alleged that they’re seen as “just a paycheck.”

“With everything going on right now and the severe outbreak of this virus, I feel so helpless and extremely worried of his welfare,” White told Patch.

“I’m enraged that there is a possibility that he can get sent back into the system with no thought to how it would affect him or others,” White said. “I’m mad that he, along with other residents, are being treated like animals and not being protected the way they should.”

White pointed out that the New Jersey Supreme Court recently ordered the release of up to 1,000 inmates in county prisons throughout the state due to the coronavirus crisis.

“Other states are releasing halfway houses, so why can't this state follow suit?” she asked. “What kind of society are we really living in where the government is OK with letting inmates or residents stay where this virus will spread?”

A pair of private corporations manage operations at Tully House: Education & Health Centers of America, Inc. (EHCA) and the GEO Group. A spokesperson for the GEO Group said the company is a subcontractor at Tully House, and EHCA is the primary provider.

According to ECHA’s website, the company manages programs at five facilities under contract with the New Jersey Department of Corrections (NJDOC), the New Jersey State Parole Board, and New Jersey county governments. These facilities include Tully House, The Harbor in Newark, Bo Robinson Assessment and Treatment Center in Trenton and Talbot Hall in Kearny.

ECHA also manages programs at Delaney Hall in Newark, where one inmate recently tested positive for COVID-19 and seven other inmates were quarantined.

The infected inmate, who was exhibiting symptoms of the virus, has been isolated from the general population at Delaney Hall. He's "responding well" to medical treatment, officials said earlier this week.

Services at these facilities include assessment and treatment for alcohol and drug abuse, criminogenic risk assessment, job-readiness training and life-­skills preparation, a family services program, and a strong Alumni Association. Two of the programs also provide substance use disorder and work release programs.

NJDOC: 'SAFETY OF RESIDENTS IS OUR TOP PRIORITY'

"The safety of our residents is our top priority," a spokesperson for the NJDOC told Patch on Friday. "We are taking the threat of COVID-19 seriously and have instituted several preventative measures, in consultation with the New Jersey Department of Health, that all third-party entities that work with our population are required to follow in order to mitigate the spread of the virus."

Preparations currently underway include:

  • Enhanced sanitization across the state's halfway houses
  • Health screenings for all those entering the halfway houses that includes temperature scans and a series of medical questions to help identify changes to health
  • Limiting work movements to those employed at worksites deemed essential by the governor
  • Suspending large group events and ensuring small activities are aligned with social distancing guidance
  • Temporarily suspending visitation

"Should a resident have any concerns they are encouraged to reach out to the facility director and ombudsman," the NJDOC spokesperson said, noting that the agency doesn't have the authority to release individuals early.

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com

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