You can hear Lonnie Garrett before you can see him. Great booms of laughter—his and whoever else’s that he’s cracking up—announce his arrival. And when he does get to you, you understand why this man leaves so many smiles in his wake. He beams positivity as he greets each person in the room.
That radiant personality helps to imagine the scene when he was arrested at the end of 2022. He says he was smiling ear-to-ear when he was cuffed and put into the back of a police car, grinning wide because he knew he was going to be locked up, caught at a house with drugs at the wrong time, and that after decades of drug use, this sixth stint of incarceration would be his last.
Going behind bars as someone freshly 50 years old with a growing gaggle of grandkids, Garrett knew this was the time to seek treatment for the decades-long pattern of drug use.
“They’ve seen me go through a lot of nonsense in my life. They’ve seen my dark and dismal days. That was a turning point in my life,” Garrett said. “I don’t want to be a part of this anymore. I can’t do it.”
Garrett began using heroin when he was a teenager and was motivated to seek treatment this time by love for his family and fear of a drug supply that looked much different than it did in his youth. When Garrett was released after six months in jail, he connected with the Cooper Center for Healing and began to attend a group program for people involved in the carceral system with a history of substance use disorders.
In this program, titled Steps to Change, people with shared life experiences can participate in weekly group therapy while they are seen one-by-one by an addiction medicine provider for medical visits.
“He’s really progressed into being one of the leaders of the group,” Ernest Egu, MD, the Cooper Addiction Medicine physician who runs the program, said. “Whenever anyone new comes in, Lonnie’s always welcoming them in, making them feel comfortable, but also willing to share his story with whoever is in the room. He’s that ear for people as an active listener and a voice of comfort.”
This group was created by Dr. Egu in September 2023 after seeing common needs in people who have recent involvement in the correctional system: Housing can be a challenge. Employment can be a challenge. Community, especially important for those looking to start anew, can be a challenge. In Steps to Change, those challenges can be addressed together.
Each weekly session focuses on a word of the week, and participants can share updates about their lives with the group. Participants can receive free legal aid through a medical legal partnership with the Camden coalition. Group members are also assisted with resume building, job interview skills, and linked with job opportunities.
That last one was Garrett’s idea.
“Lonnie was ready to work and get to that next step in his life. He was saying the one thing he needs is employment,” Dr. Egu said. “That’s what encouraged me to reach out to Cooper’s Human Resources team. I said ‘Hey, we have this group of people who are ready to work, who have been making a lot of positive steps in their lives, and they just need a shot.’”
Dr. Egu enlisted the help of Shatiana Turnage, Cooper’s Senior Director of Talent Acquisition, who jumped at the invitation. Turnage attended some of the group meetings herself to meet the men and women in person to talk about past job experience and scope out potential career paths.
“Our inclusion value within Cooper includes people who are looking for that second chance and offering them the tools and opportunities to support themselves and their families,” Turnage said. “It fills my cup to hear their stories and to understand their journeys and witness the excitement when I talk about these opportunities. It reminds us of the why we do what we do.”
And in this act of manifestation, Garrett landed a job for himself at Cooper University Health Care, the very organization which had treated him for addiction and helped him back into the workforce. At Cooper, Garrett is a valued member of the Environmental Services team, making sure all areas throughout the hospital are spotless and ready for patient care.
“Cleaning is my passion. It gives me peace of mind,” Garrett said. “The people I’ve met here mean so much to me.”
And Garrett means a great deal to his new team. With less than six months on the job, he’s already been awarded Team Member of the Month for his skill, dedication, and demeanor at work.
“I cried when I got it,” Garrett said. “I worked for a shipyard for 12 years and they never appreciated me. Here, I never call out. I’m never late. I don’t complain. Like James Brown said, ‘Just open the door. I’ll get it myself.’”
Garrett’s not only putting in the effort in his new career here at Cooper—the effort he’s put into his recovery is apparent. A peer leader in Steps to Change, newly named Team Member of the Month, a trail of smiling friends and co-workers wherever he goes, he has a new energy to be there for himself and for his family, especially his grandkids. The two youngest of which are two and three years old.
“All eight of my grandkids are my babies, but those last two…. I don’t want them to see me go through what the other six saw me go through,” Garrett said. “Never in my life would I have thought I’d be in this position. I wake up every morning and thank God that I’m here. I’m finally happy.”