All of us, especially those who have siblings, know that relationships within a family can be complicated. Growing up, Frankie Roberts, the baby of the family, wanted all his parents’ attention. Seemingly, he never got any because his older brother, Marvin, needed all their support. Marvin had joined the army back in the day. Post-Vietnam, he came back home broken, struggling with an addiction to heroin. Frankie resented his older brother for many years, to the point where he even mistreated him, and cast him aside. After his second tour of duty in Vietnam, Marvin was arrested and convicted for first of his many drug-related charges. Between 1971 and 1997, Marvin served a total of 12 years in prison.
Despite everything, on the day of a minor surgery, Frankie finally decided to forgive his brother. As Frankie was getting into his car to head to the hospital, with the intention of apologizing and asking for his forgiveness, he was notified by his sister-in-law that his big brother had suddenly passed away. It was in this moment that Frankie made a life-long commitment to reach out to others who faced the same challenges as his brother. Leading Into New Communities, popularly known as LINC, was formed in 2000. LINC primary mission is as to educate and motivate youth to make positive life choices while empowering men and women returning from incarceration to be productive members of our community. It also provides transitional living, combined with a stable employment program in order to provide a supportive foundation for those individuals who are re-entering the community after incarceration. In the past 22 years, LINC has served approximately 2,674 adults and 290 youth with a success rate of 85%.
Marvin never knew his brother Frankie desired his forgiveness. LINC was started to honor Marvin’s memory and support other people who face similar struggles. Frankie’s love for his brother became a movement for second chances – chances for countless others living in our local community of Wilmington. We all deserve to be loved. We all deserve a second chance.
To provide non-medical services to Medicaid enrollees, and in the hope of building a more innovative healthcare system for our community, LINC has now become a part of the Healthy Opportunities Pilot.
