On December 2, 1998, Henry was rescued.  Actually he was arrested for participating in an illegal scheme involving victims of accidents.  Henry, however, considers it his rescue from a life that had been going downhill for eight years.

 

It's hard to imagine a cum laude graduate with a BA in Business Administration from Morgan State University in Baltimore, a star athlete and, within four years, the owner of an Athlete's Foot franchise in Harlem, becoming a self-described irresponsible father, son, and brother.  After his marriage broke up and he lost the franchise, he spent the next eight years in denial of a drug habit.  He did function successfully in the business world: a restaurant owner, advertisement space salesman specializing in civil service journals.  But all the money he earned went to the drug dealers.

 

It was a part-time occupation that resulted in his rescue. "A setback only sets the stage for a miraculous comeback," declares Henry.  After five and a half months in the Hudson County Corrections Facility, as a first offender with good prospects, he was sentenced to seventeen months in the Intensive Supervision Program (ISP).  He resumed his work selling ad space and completed his community service working in PERC's GED- program tutoring clients in math, English, writing, and communication skills.  Henry says, "PERC allows individuals to maximize their potential, if they have the desire."  He specialized in ISP students, like him, with limited criminal backgrounds.  He developed his own curriculum and, because of his own experience, acted as a mentor to his students.  After completing his community service, he continued for three more years in the PERC program.  He credits PERC with providing him with an immeasurable opportunity.

 

His rehabilitation includes his soon-to-be deaconate in the Mount Olive Baptist Church and vice presidency of his Masonic Lodge.  He has been running his own full-time business for three years.  When we met for our interview, he presented me with his business card--a sign of success in this modern world.

 

Story by Jim Dette