Kristin Pierce is highlighting Neighborhood Heroes each week. If you know of someone who should be profiled, Kristin can be reached at kpierce@wwltv.com on Facebook @kpiercetv.
Monday through Friday you’ll find Joron Smith whipping up delicious meals, checking on customers and making sure everything at Café Reconcile runs smoothly.
Smith, who is better known as Chef Joe, is an all-hands-on-deck kind of guy. He helps to teach kids within the Reconcile program life skills, the importance of education and how to get a good job. He also uses his own life story to teach what not to do.
"I actually started smoking regularly when I was 11," Smith said.
It wasn’t long after Chef Joe started selling drugs. He was drinking, smoking and drug dealing throughout his teenage years. He was well into his 30s before he realized he had a serious problem.
"Becoming addicted, it came to the point where it controlled my life," he said.
Chef Joe says one morning, he watched from across the street as his wife got their daughter ready for school. He wasn’t living at the house at the time so he snuck in to shower. After washing up, he packed his bags and went to Bridge House to get clean. And as big a step as it was to turn to Bridge House for help, it was a step he would have to make more than once.
"Went the first day, no room. Second day, no room. It wasn’t 'til the third morning that I went there that the guy called the intake counselor and said, 'If we let him leave again, he’s not coming back,'" Smith said.
Chef Joe has now been sober for 15 years. When he turned his life around, Chef Joe said he wanted to be a good example for his 4 children. But he says God had bigger plans.
"God decided you’re not going to just be an example for your kids but I got all these other kids that I want you to become an example for and help them understand that life can lead to this but if you make that change you can have this," he said.
And he’s that example every day.
"He’s a big part of it, he’s like the right hand," Lee King said. "He pretty much does everything, if you need him, Chef Joe he’s right there."
Eugene Temple, executive chef/general manager
"It’s a ministry of his. He was God sent, he’ll tell you that all the time," Executive Chef and general manager, Eugene Temple, said.
"You can make mistakes in life but you can correct those mistakes," Smith said.
And leading by example makes Chef Joe one of our neighborhood heroes.