NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—Natasha Rodgers grew up around her grandfather Simuel’s non-profit organization.
The group supported needy families out of the Humanity Baptist Church in Newark in the 60's and 70's with meal programs, a low-cost thrift-store, and a “safe-play street,” where she remembers playing with other children "without fear of being harmed" in a cordoned off section of the Church’s otherwise dangerous neighborhood.