PHOTO BY BOB ROCHE
Lynn resident Chris Mullins cuts the ribbon for the official opening of the new Roca center on Andrew Street. With him are Molly Baldwin, left, Essex County Sheriff Frank Cousins, third from left, Senator Thomas McGee, Lynn Police Chief Kevin Coppinger, Mayor Kennedy’s chief of staff Jamie Cerulli and State Rep. Brendan Crighton.
BY ADAM SWIFT
LYNN — After officials praised the opening of the new Roca center on Andrew Street Monday, Chris Mullins got to the heart of the organization’s mission.
“I was driven by pills, booze, and cocaine,” said the 24-year-old East Lynn native. “I had no regard for my life or the life of anyone around me.”
In 2012, Mullins was arrested on drug charges while on probation for another drug incident.
“My whole life was a mess,” Mullins said.
That’s when Henry Thai, a Roca youth worker, stepped in.
Roca, Spanish for rock, is a Chelsea-based nonprofit that provides education, employment and life skills to high-risk young men ages 17 to 24, many of whom have recently been released from jail.
“Henry took me to lunch and to the Chelsea site and provided me with information about employment and education,” said Mullins.
Thai has seen him through his ups and downs and taught him to how to earn and appreciate an honest paycheck, he added.
Mullins and the others who gathered downtown for the ribbon cutting said they hope the Roca motto of less jail, more future, is a success in Lynn as it has been in Chelsea.
Founded in 1988, the organization has served 659 young men across eastern Massachusetts in 2014 and 2015.
Police identified 100 “high-risk” men and secured $251,000 in state grant money to support Roca’s outreach program in Lynn. The funds have enabled the organization to open the new center where they work specifically with Lynn residents.
“To me, this is a huge boost to the city,” said Lynn Police Chief Kevin Coppinger.
Roca provides the resources for young men when they get are released from jail to help make sure they don’t end up back behind bars, he added.
Roca founder and CEO Molly Baldwin said the work of her organization isn’t glamorous or easy.
“It’s much harder to spend time with young people who are really struggling,” said Baldwin. “It takes a long-distance view, and sometimes it can take years.”
Emily Fish, Roca’s assistant director, said the organization addresses her fundamental beliefs that transformation is possible and everyone deserves to have someone who believes in them.
“We know that this has worked in Chelsea, and we hope to do the same important work in Lynn,” said Fish.
Mullins said he believes it will.
“This is more than just a program, it becomes a family,” he said. “Since I’ve been involved with Roca, my life has changed dramatically.”
