(from Courier-Post, July 2, 2017) CAMDEN – The tattoo on her arm is new, a reminder of what she’s been through and what she’s survived. ¶ “Blessed,” it says in a neat, straight script on her left forearm, and Susana (who asked to be identified only by her first name to protect her safety) feels that way after escaping an abusive relationship. ¶ Blessed to have found her way out of isolation from her family and friends. ¶ Blessed to know that what she experienced was not normal, not OK, and not something she brought upon herself. ¶ Blessed that … Continue reading ‘Blessed’ to escape, get help

(from Courier-Post, July 28, 2017) “They’re just bones, until we can figure out who lived in these bones,” said George Leader as he stood next to the remains of an elderly woman, carefully arranged in anatomical order on a sheet of plywood. The professor from The College of New Jersey’s School of Sociology and Anthropology is working with forensic archaeologist Kimberlee Sue Moran of Rutgers-Camden to excavate and catalog more than 160 sets of human remains — and counting — that were discovered at a construction site in Philadelphia’s Old City beginning in late 2016. The remains were from the … Continue reading ‘Every coffin tells a story’