West Milford If you were in the congregation at St. Joseph Church in West Milford last week you had the pleasure of hearing the spiritual music of the Straight & Narrow Gospel Choir. In between songs, a young man named Neil got up to speak and his words, although softly spoken, were loud and clear. Stay away from drugs and alcohol or pay the price. Neil will be leaving Straight & Narrow, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility in Paterson, in about a week after spending a year in the program. He looks forward to continuing his education and becoming a productive citizen. Not accustomed to public speaking, you could almost feel his anxiety as he faced the hundreds of people packed into St. Joseph’s Parish Center. His message was important though, and there wasn’t a sound as he spoke. He couldn’t have done a better job of bringing home all the reasons for young people to stay clean and sober. His sincerity came from the rock bottom of experience. Born in Paterson, Neil is now 23 years old. He has good parents, he said, who gave him everything he needed and he has deep regrets about putting them through the torture of having a drug addicted child. When he was 17, although doing well in school, he decided he wanted to be “cool and popular” and began associating with a bad crowd. He was afraid to come home drunk or high, but he hid it well by going straight to bed upon entering the house. That statement alone may set off parental alarm bells. When he went off to college he had more freedom and he abused that privilege sorely. He started taking Oxycontin and Oxycodone and then other drugs and he soon had a $200-a-day habit that needed financing. He began to sell drugs and even stole money from his parents’ friends, an act that apparently still shames him, more so because it shamed his parents. “I didn’t care. I was selfish and self-centered. I’d see the pain in my family. I messed up and I’ve had to deal with the consequences,” he said. After a year in the Straight & Narrow program Neil is going home. He knows he has to earn back the trust that was broken. He has learned a powerful lesson and, as much as he seemed uncomfortable with speaking to a crowd, his desire to reach the youths in attendance overrode his discomfort. “I see young people here. Listen to your family, they know what’s right for you. Choose your friends wisely,” he said. Monsignor Lou Bihr, the director of pastoral care at Straight & Narrow, spoke of the programs at the facility. Ministering to those suffering alcohol and drug addiction, he said they currently have 226 clients in the program; men, women and adolescents age 12-17 years old. The choir was made up of clients on the road to wholesome lives again. At the conclusion of the Mass, Sr. Janet Brisky, who serves on the board of Straight & Narrow, invited all young people in the congregation to join the choir for the closing song. It was a joyful sound and the song “Lean on Me” never sounded better.