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New Jerusalem Laura Living in community with recovering addicts is one of the hundreds of ways in which Medical Mission Sisters around the world try to be a healing presence to those in need today. "I felt called to share my life with the poor," explains Sister Margaret McKenna of her decision to settle in a blighted area of North Philadelphia in 1989. Immersed in a neighborhood where 70% of the adult population had addiction problems, she founded the New Jerusalem Laura (NJL) treatment and housing center for recovering drug and alcohol addicts.
The program is named from the Biblical vision of a "New Jerusalem" in which need and violence give way to a life of creativity, abundance, and love. "Laura" is the Greek word for hermitage. "With God's gracious help, we have grown to be a strong community of recovering addicts with 50 current residents, 5 houses, and an active alumni," Sister Margaret says. Over 70% of those who have completed the program in the past 5 years have stayed clean and sober. For a nominal monthly rent, residents in the community live surrounded by the support of other recovering addicts. NJL has a holistic emphasis - seeking to integrate the physical, psychological, spiritual, political, and social dimensions of recovery into daily life. Residents attend Scripture study, group therapy, and Alternatives to Violence workshops. The average length of stay is 8-9 months.
Outreach within the neighborhood is a key component of NJL. The residents distribute more than 50 bags of food (from a local food bank) weekly, and give lunch to the children during the summer. They also clean and garden abandoned lots, and participate in nonviolent advocacy on issues such as homelessness. Sister Margaret and NJL have received awards from the Caron Foundation for Excellence in Addiction Treatment; the Notre Dame Club of Philadelphia; and, most recently, from the Philadelphia Mayor's Drug and Alcohol Executive Commission.
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