Center For Great Expectation’s Wright Honored As ‘Hero’ For 2015

Center for Great Expectation’s CEO and founder Peg Wright, left, is named a “New Jersey Hero for 2015” by First lady Mary Pat Christie.
Photo: Office of the Governor.

Peg Wright, founder and CEO of the Center for Great Expectations in Somerset, on April 27 was named a New Jersey Hero of 2015 by First Lady Mary pat Christie.

Wright, who founded the center in 1998, is the third NJ Hero for the year and the 34th since the program was started by Mrs. Christie in 2010.

The Center for Great Expectations, located on Dellwood Lane, is a residence for adolescents and pregnant women facing abuse, homelessness and drug addiction. Gov. Chris Christie visited the center in October 2014 to announce a $12 million boost for drug rehabilitation programs in the state.

“What Peg has accomplished here at The Center for Great Expectations is awe-inspiring,” Mrs. Christie said in a press releae about the award. “Her strong vision and commitment to a segment of our population that is often overlooked, is providing life-changing opportunities to many adult women, teens and their children that puts families in need on a safe path to treatment, recovery and self-sufficiency. I am proud to name Peg Wright as our next New Jersey Hero.”

In an email, Wright said she was “honored-delighted” to receive the award.

Mrs. Christie’s “authentic care and concern was evident to all of us, especially the residents! And they’re the real heroes,” Wright wrote.

“That was a wonderful gift! I say this a lot, but it bears repeating . My Dad always told me ‘hire people that are better than you. They’ll make you look good.’ I ‘ve followed that advice throughout my career. My staff are the best on the planet and I share this award with them.”

In the release, Wright said the center is “different, our programs are trauma-informed, they focus on the critical mother-child bond that supports a healthy future for both, and we celebrate all successes, from small but important, to something transformational.”

“Every time someone visits us, they tell me there’s this great feeling here, a positive vibe, an amazing energy. I’m grateful to be a part of this,” she said in the release.

The center started as a non-clinical program that served six clients and no children, according to the release. Since then, CGE has “expanded to provide a full continuum of services by more than 60 full and part-time employees at two residential treatment centers, an onsite daycare facility, an outpatient treatment location and supportive housing units.”

The continuum of services offered by CGE includes:

• Katy’s Place, an on-site licensed child development center that provides daily professional child care and makes it possible for each mother to work on recovery, educational and vocational goals while her child is cared for in a safe, nurturing environment.
• Adolescent Programs, which involve residential treatment for pregnant and parenting adolescents and their children at the Center for Great Expectations (CGE) to improve emotional well-being, development of essential parenting and life skills and management of personal home and finances.
• Adult Programs, which involves residential treatment for homeless, pregnant or parenting adult women with substance use disorders and their children and promotes the achievement of independence and self-sufficiency.
• Outpatient Services, a community-based outpatient program which addresses the ongoing needs of women recovering from substance use disorders and is located at the Clinic of St. Peter’s University Hospital in New Brunswick.
• Permanent Supportive Housing, which provides safe, supportive housing in close proximity to CGE’s Outpatient Program.

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