Vineland pastor to open Daniel's Den

VINELAND - Watching a mother struggle to usher her children from a taxi into Sunday service, Higher Places Ministries Senior Pastor Ozzie Heredia knew immediately she needed more than spiritual guidance.

That moment put Heredia on a journey that culminates Monday with the opening of a new community center offering support to families in need.

“When the service was over, I ran after her. I met her in the parking lot and almost started to interrogate her,” Heredia said.

“It was a sad thing,” he said. “She was only 24-years-old, had five children with three different fathers, unemployed, on the system, and pretty much hopeless.”

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That night, he said, he couldn’t shake the image of the struggling family.

“I prayed to God, 'Lord this is crazy, these kids don’t have a chance,'" he said.

Reaching for his Bible, Heredia said he started to read the Book of Daniel and was struck how God silenced the lions’ roar when Daniel was thrown into their den.

In those words, he said he found the hope to not only help the single mom on his mind, but countless other families.

After two years of planning, Heredia is ready to open the new center at 27 S. East Blvd., aptly named Daniel’s Den.

Its mission is “to silence the roar of poverty, to silence the roar of abandonment, to silence the roar of failure, to silence the roar of missed opportunities,” he told The Daily Journal during a recent tour of the facility.

The focus is to help young people by strengthening families.

After coming up with the idea two years ago, he established an advisory board of single moms and others in the community. They drafted a multifaceted program of counseling, job training, education, and family activities.

The main priority for single moms was getting them jobs, Heredia said.

“Some people think that single moms want to take advantage of the system, but that is not true,” he said. “It’s just they have no other way of rebounding.”

Daniel’s Den needed a home. Heredia wanted the outreach center to operate independent of his 700-member West Landis Avenue church.

Interested in the former Omnicare building at the corner of the Boulevard and Elmer Street, Heredia sought a lease arrangement but the owner chose to donate the 30,000-square-feet to the organization.

They started renovations in January.

“We have updated and retrofitted 40 percent of the building,” Heredia said, showing off what he calls “Phase One.”

Rooms are furnished with desks, chairs and computers. Each door is labeled with a purpose – “Work Force Development,” “GED,” “English as a Second Language.”

Beyond the lobby doors are a cluster of offices, already personalized by the volunteers who will occupy them.

“We have 35 volunteers, including four clinical counselors, six social workers and 13 educators,” Heredia said. “The whole operation is strictly volunteer – there is no payroll here.”

“Everyone is licensed,” said Christine Ruiz, the center’s assistant director, who holds a master’s degree in social work from Stockton University.

Heredia’s wife, Lily, is taking on the role of office manager and an intake team member.

“When families come in, we have an intake team who do an extensive interview with the family as a whole unit,” Heredia said.

“What’s awesome about Daniel’s Den, our assessment team puts together a unique program for each family on an individual basis,” he said. “Whatever their need is, we will supply it.”

“There is no way to fall through the cracks and that’s what we want to prevent,” he said.

The goal is start with 40 families before their official launch in October. There are already plans to expand the program into Millville.

The program is provided at no financial cost to families, but they must be willing to invest.

“They have to commit to the program,” Heredia said, urging people to be self-motivated. “We want to open doors to families who really want the help.

“This is family-centered,” he said. “What makes this program unique is we are not a curbside drop-off-your-child-type of program.”

“We want to work with the family as a whole; if we know if there is a problem with a child, that means that there are problems in the home,” Heredia said.

“We want to deal with the parents just as much as we deal with the children,” he said. “To deal with children and then send them back to a dysfunctional environment, it’s like running on a treadmill.”

The center will be open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Counseling and courses will be scheduled Monday through Thursday, with Friday devoted to fun activities where families can apply what they’ve learned during week, Lily Heredia said.

The next two phases will expand the curriculum to include recreation, fitness, nutrition classes and a youth entrepreneurial program.

Daniel’s Den is eager to partner with other social service and educational groups and can offer them space on site, Heredia said.

“I have plans for every inch of this building,” he said, wanting Daniel’s Den to become a home.

“My measure of success is when that single mom, who was broken, comes in and Daniel’s Den is able to help her put her life into perspective,” Heredia said. “And then that mom stays to help someone else.”

“We want these people to tell other single moms, 'Listen, I did it, you can do it.'”

Deborah M. Marko; (856) 563-5256; dmarko@gannettnj.com