Article published by Daniel Schemer - Taunton Daily Gazette - May 10, 2026

TAUNTON — Alfredo “AJ” Rosa served nearly six years in prison for an armed robbery in 2018 of a Mansfield gas station. “It’s the biggest regret of my life,” he said.

Rosa, 35, originally from Avon, told the Gazette, after receiving an accolade on Tuesday, May 5, from the Taunton Community Justice Support Center that he was “heavily intoxicated” and under the influence of illegal drugs during the incident. 

He said the whole thing was the culmination of years of drug and alcohol use, all instigated, he said, by grief he had over the death of his brother who was murdered in a shooting in 2011. “I struggled from that,” he said. 

A probation violation in January 2026 due to alcohol use brought Rosa back to court, he said. He said his probation officer recommended the program offered at Taunton’s Community Justice Support Center. 

Rosa said he’s been with the program since early March. He recently was awarded a certificate of completion of his orientation phase with the program.

“This program met me where I was,” he said, adding that staff aren’t trying to change him, but “guide" him. 

He said the staff and other clients at the Taunton Community Justice Support Center have “really embraced" him through different classes, meetings and tools helping him stay sober, improve himself and move on from the past. 

“I come here even when I don’t have to,” Rosa said.

People convicted of crimes, like Rosa, come to the Taunton Community Justice Support Center to find pathways to forgiveness and reform.

“Whatever harm you caused, you exercised your own autonomy to take responsibility for that and do the things you have to do to stay safe, build better relationships, and to get on the right tracks,” said Vincent Lorenti, executive director of the state’s Office of Community Corrections, which oversees the Taunton Community Justice Support Center, during a client recognition ceremony for those in attendance working to make better versions of themselves.

What is Taunton's Community Justice Support Center?

Across the Commonwealth there are 18 Community Justice Support Centers, all of which are managed by the state’s Office of Community Corrections, a division of the Massachusetts Probation Service.

These centers offer people on probation, most sent to them via court order, programs and services aimed at rehabilitation and getting them back to being productive members of the community. That includes drug counseling, behavioral and healthy living support, legal resources, placement at sober living facilities, GED and college education options and workforce aid for job interviews and gaining employment. 

The Taunton Community Justice Support Center is at 5 Cohannet St., where the former Taunton Daily Gazette building is located.

Those who qualify for this program are usually low-level and non-violent offenders, many of whom, not all, have histories with addiction. 

Lorenti previously said it’s a case-by-case basis and a main factor in who these centers help comes down to recidivism and how high the risk factor is for them relapsing or committing more crimes. 

“We’re not going to incarcerate our way out of a problem like addiction,” said Wareham District Court Judge Edward Sarkansky, who praised the Community Justice Support Center program during the client recognition ceremony on May 5, saying it addresses the need for behavioral modification to prevent repeat offences. 

YMCA Connection

Ten of the support centers across the state are located inside YMCA branches. Taunton's center is leased by the Old Colony YMCA inside the building.

Old Colony YMCA President and CEO Charles Clifford said Community Justice Support Centers and the YMCA both work to help "people reach their full potential."

Justin Silva: 'I owe a lot to the program'

Justin Silva said he joined the Community Justice Support Center probation program to “better his life” after getting charged with back-to-back incidents of reckless driving. The Rhode Island native told the Gazette he has a “big problem” with drinking, but has been sober for 14 months.

“I owe a lot to the program. I go to meetings. I have a sponsor. I pray every morning and night,” Silva said.

He said he’s spent the last 10 months living in a sober house, the Robert Smith House in Taunton, and is on his way to going back to work in construction soon. 

He said he credits the Taunton Community Justice Support Center with giving him the tools and methods for managing his negative feelings. “I now handle things better,” Silva said.

Jasier Blevins-Campbell: 'Heavily motivated not to go back down that spiral'

Jasier Blevins-Campbell told the Gazette he was dealing with drug use when he was arrested for assault and battery in November of 2025 while living in Randolph. He said he spiraled further after that, losing his job and violating a restraining order taken out by his ex-girlfriend. 

Blevins-Campbell is new to the probation program at the Taunton Community Justice Support Center, being three weeks sober and entering the program in April 2026. “I’m heavily motivated not to go back down that spiral,” he said, adding he was still dealing with withdrawal symptoms when he first entered the program. 

He said he’s currently staying with family in Taunton and he just recently was hired at a Dunkin' in the city. 

Besides learning how to cope and deal with things in a healthier fashion, he said group meetings at the Taunton support center have helped him “open up myself to criticism” and find "myself again” by talking to people with similar experiences. In addition to going back to school, he said his biggest goal is to be “consistent with everything” when it comes to staying clean and handling life.

Alfredo 'AJ' Rosa: 'Maybe I was meant to help people' 

Alfredo “AJ” Rosa, currently residing in Taunton, is unemployed and looking for a job in construction or carpentry. He is doing things like resumé-building and improving his job interview skills with the probation program. 

He said he is contemplating working towards getting educated and certified to work in counseling and rehabilitation services offered in places like the Taunton Community Justice Support Center. 

“Maybe I was meant to help people,” Rosa said. 

Staying the course

At the 2025 client recognition ceremony at the Taunton support center, Peter Hammarberg was eight months into the probation program after being at his “lowest point in life” — after stealing a car, which ultimately led to incarceration and an eventual stay in a drug treatment center, he said.

At this year's client recognition ceremony, Hammarberg received multiple accolades, including for successfully transitioning out of the Taunton Community Justice Support Center program.

He told the Gazette he is living on his own and switched jobs, from going to working at Lowe's in Raynham last year, to Ryder in Taunton for the last three months. Serena Foley, a counselor at the Taunton support center said during the presentation that Hammarberg earned his GED while in the program.

Said Hammarberg, "Push through, and you can do anything you can set your mind to."