Leslie Sanders has been with us for the last year, she was heavily influenced by her family and relationships especially Megan her youngest daughter. The story of Megan, and Megan’s relationship with her Father Rich, Leslie’s ex-husband lives with all of us. It’s too close to home, it’s our home. Leslie’s family’s strength, its ability to show hope and healing, is a beacon that resonates with us at our program.
Leslie was born and raised in Atlantic County and a graduate of Holy Spirit High School. She attended Glassboro State College now Rowan University. She is married to her husband Bob and has three daughters; Rachael, Sydney and Megan, two stepchildren; Robert and Samantha and two grandchildren; Lincoln age 2 and Violet 10 months.
Although she never used drugs, Leslie did have a relationship with addiction. Her first husband was an addict for many years before he got clean in 2002. Her 2nd husband, Rich, also an addict, died of a drug overdose on December 22, 2014. He was an only child and an only grandchild. Rich’s death affected her youngest daughter Megan especially hard. Megan was only 12 years old when Rich passed away and despite his struggle with addiction, the two were extremely close.
Leslie tells us it became impossible for Megan to talk about her father due to the stigma associated with drug addiction. So much so, Leslie and Bob decided to move the family from Linwood to Egg Harbor Township during Megan’s 7th grade summer break, so Megan could go to a new school where people weren’t aware of her father’s death.
In September of 2018, Megan saw a social media post from Sheriff Eric Scheffler regarding his project “Hope One” Atlantic County. Hope One is a mobile response unit that offers critical support for people suffering from addiction. Megan was moved to learn that addiction had touched Sheriff Scheffler’s family, his daughter was in active addiction at the time, but is now clean and sober. This prompted her to host a fundraiser for Hope One. In honor of her dad’s birthday in November, Megan asked family and friends for donations for Hope One. In about ten days, she raised over $1,100.00. Last summer Megan organized a pancake breakfast to benefit Hope One. She raised over $5,000.00 that day and another $3,000.00 since. Megan is already in the planning stages for this year’s event later this summer. In addition to the fundraisers above, Leslie’s family has been involved in the Stop the Heroin walk in Atlantic City and a food drive at Thanksgiving sponsored in part by the Atlantic County Sheriff’s Foundation.
Leslie is extremely proud of the work Megan has done and continues to do in the fight against this opioid epidemic in our community. Leslie is convinced that Megan’s involvement in these projects has helped her heal. Leslie said candidly that she never would have thought to work in our industry had it not been for Megan and the lesson we learned about stigma and the hope our proud community shares moving forward.
Our team at Behavioral Crossroads supports and challenges Leslie every day. Leslie came to us as an Administrative Assistant. Her passion and drive allowed management to consider the next step. Leslie is now registered with clinical supervision as a counselor intern in the certification process. She is enrolled in the curriculum and seeking credentialing to become a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor. We proudly showcase Leslie Sanders as our featured employee this month. We learn from her inspiration every day. Thank you Leslie.
