New Camden rehab offers addicts holistic approach

CAMDEN - LeRoy Stanford knows what it’s like to live a life of addiction and crime; the Atlantic City native said it was a common theme in his family of seven siblings and two parents.

His father was disabled, but a “verbally and emotionally abusive” alcoholic. His mother worked two jobs, partly to keep the large family afloat but also, he believes, “to escape the chaos at home.”

MORE COVERAGE: Looking for an addiction antidote

He recalled selling marijuana as young as 12 and snorting heroin by 14 to stave off the paranoia that came with dealing drugs, and believes he introduced at least two of his siblings to the habit.

Still, he said, he and his siblings were lucky: Most came out of the darkness of addiction and poverty to lead sober, productive lives.

Now he’s working with those whose fate he hopes will be as fortunate as his own.

Stanford got clean at age 25 because, he said, he “just got tired” of the lifestyle he was living and was fearful he would end up in jail like many others he knew. He is now set to open Way of the Spirit Counseling Services, an outpatient addiction treatment facility in Camden.

Leona Ryan heads Way of the Spirit International, the literacy and job training outreach on Mount Ephraim Avenue where Stanford has carved out his own space to help the city’s addicts.

She started the ministry in 2002, a Camden native and bible college graduate who wanted to “meet people where they are,” she said.

MORE HELP: Anti-addiction program aims to 'make a real difference'

A retired hairdresser in the city, she met Stanford while Way of the Spirit was on Spruce Street in what she called the city’s “heart of the drug trade.”

“I knew I couldn’t do that outreach myself” in addition to the works she was already doing, she said. “And I knew LeRoy is very good at what he does.”

Many addicts battle multiple issues, she found: a lack of education, illiteracy, a cycle of poverty, joblessness and incarceration that make it hard to gain a foothold in life. Way of the Spirit seeks to take a holistic approach, offering services designed to address each issue, including literacy instruction, computer classes, GED instruction, job readiness programs, and now addiction counseling.

Stanford, a Sicklerville resident, said Camden was a natural location for his outreach, geared toward those ages 18 and over and following a 12-Step model.

“I knew I had to give back to this community,” he said. “I spent a lot of time ripping and running on these streets with my brothers.”

Way of the Spirit Counseling Services will have a grand opening from 1 to 3 p.m. Wednesday at 2600 Mount Ephraim Ave., Suite 405, Camden. Visit wotscenter.org or call (856) 963-7323 for more information.

Phaedra Trethan: (856) 486-2417; ptrethan@gannettnj.com