[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 16612-16613]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            TRIBUTE TO JAMES ALLEN, A HERO TO OUR COMMUNITY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 3, 2014

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in tribute to a very important 
and influential citizen of this Good Nation, Mr. James Allen. Mr. Allen 
has recently stepped down as Executive Director and CEO of the Addict 
Rehabilitation

[[Page 16613]]

Center (ARC) which began in 1957, at first as a small day program which 
met in the Manhattan Christian Reform Church. Mr. Allen is an inspiring 
man who has brought much needed assistance, love, and care to the 
addicts of our community, taking the steps to bring them back into the 
folds of society.
  Even without his accomplishments in terms of giving back to the 
world, Mr. Allen's personal story of struggle and growth is enough in 
itself to merit this tribute. Mr. Allen was himself a heroin addict, 
and had pushed away his family, friends, and all of his emotions in 
order to maintain his negative relationship with his drug of choice. 
After ten years of hopelessness and lack of connection with the world 
around him, Mr. Allen made the toughest decision addicts are faced 
with: to get help for his problem. He had the support of his wife, 
Mary, who pushed him to join a treatment facility in Kentucky. It was 
there that Allen overcame his previous anger and contempt for religion, 
and he began to pray to God to help him through his struggle. With an 
amount of work unimaginable to those who have never dealt with 
addiction, Allen overcame his dependence on heroin. His journey is an 
inspiring one, and I am honored to call Mr. Allen my friend.
  Yet Mr. Allen's fight did not end here. In addition to facing the 
daily battles recovered addicts must face throughout their lives, Mr. 
Allen took the next step to help others dealing with similar struggles. 
His life crossed paths with that of another dear friend and civil 
rights leader, the late Reverend Dr. Eugene S. Callender of the 
Manhattan Christian Reform Church, and he immediately volunteered to 
assist the Reverend with a church-sponsored narcotics rehabilitation 
program. Since that day, Mr. Allen has not paused in his goal of 
helping other addicts change their lives around. As founder of the 
Addict Rehabilitation Center, he transformed the small church-funded 
program into a successful, far-reaching organization. Under Allen's 
loving and committed leadership, ARC has served thousands of people 
dealing with substance abuse, and the hope he brought to these people's 
lives will forever remain in their hearts.

                          ____________________