A way out: How N.J. native is offering 'hope after dope'

LeRoy Stanford seeks those in need.

CAMDEN -- In a nondescript strip mall on the outskirts of Camden, LeRoy Stanford's dream of an all-encompassing outpatient treatment center is taking shape.

The Atlantic City native and recovered heroin addict who spent his younger years -- as he puts it -- "ripping and running" through Camden and Atlantic City takes the long view when it comes to beating drugs.

"Hope after dope," the soft-spoken executive director of Way of the Spirit Counseling Services said during an interview last week. "How can we meet them where they're at and take them to the next level? There is a way out."

Finding the way out isn't easy and addiction has landed family and friends in worse places than his.

"But for the grace of God that could have been me," he said of dying or going to jail.

Camden heroin buyers came from the 'burbs

Stanford got clean, however, and went from working as a cook at the John Brooks Recovery Center, in Atlantic City, to becoming a counselor there. He later attained his masters degree in counseling from Lincoln University and is the newly-appointed coordinator of the addiction counseling program at Camden County College effective later this summer.

Some of the pieces to his puzzle at Way of the Spirit are presently in place. The non-profit has called Camden home since 2002 and already offers therapy sessions, family and trauma counseling, mentoring, a literary center to help with people obtaining their G.E.D., a nighttime substance abuse program and more.

"Families do have a right to be a part of the process," Stanford said of bringing moral support along during the road to recovery.

The outpatient center, which has been approved by the state Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services, officially opens on June 8 -- the same month Stanford got clean 21 years ago.

According to figures from the New Jersey Substance Abuse Monitoring System, which tracks admission records at clinics, more than 45,000 of the 95,000 people who checked themselves in between Jan. 1, 2015 and May 16 did so for issues with heroin and opiates.

Of the 7,587 total admissions in Camden County, just under 50 percent were for heroin and other opiates. Only Essex County facilities saw more people admitted, at just over 8,230, for any sort of addiction.

Once officially open, Way of the Spirit's outpatient program plans to accept walk-ins, Medicaid users, private insurance and are working on establishing a referral service with the county's drug court program.

"People are hurting. People are dying. They need to be empowered and encouraged," Stanford said. "We really do offer hope here."