When Vince DiPasquale opened a single halfway house for alcoholics in South Philadelphia in 1977, he couldn’t have predicted what would follow. Armed with little more than faith and encouragement from his sponsor — who gave him what he calls “a mustard seed” of belief — DiPasquale set out to change how communities approach addiction and mental health.
Nearly 50 years later, that seed has grown into StartingPoint, a thriving nonprofit and mental health practice based in Haddon Township. It offers free weekly lectures and support groups.Today, the organization includes 40 contract therapists, many of whom operate on a sliding scale, hosts 27 weekly meetings, and serves as a vital education and referral center.
“This place is jumping all day long,” DiPasquale, a former Catholic priest, pointed out. “I’ve proudly watched it grow.”
From the beginning, StartingPoint has operated on a simple but powerful belief: no one seeking help for addiction or mental health challenges should ever be turned away because of a lack of resources.
That mission still drives everything the organization does.
StartingPoint offers a wide range of services designed to support the whole person — mental health education, donation-based support groups, therapy and coaching, employee wellness programs, and community partnerships. Its resource center connects individuals and families with compassionate care tailored to their needs.
“This place is jumping all day long,” said Vince DiPasquale, of StartingPoint, a nonprofit he founded with the idea that no one seeking help for addiction or mental health challenges should ever be turned away due to a lack of resources.
Clients come seeking help for everything from anxiety, grief, and depression to relationship struggles, identity issues, eating disorders, chronic worry, and addiction recovery. The approach is holistic and deeply compassionate.
The program has never taken any city, state, or federal money, but instead raises funds from benefactors and through its 5K, golf classic, and other outreach. The 49th anniversary of StartingPoint will be commemorated at Valleybrook Country Club in Blackwood on May 31, which is also DiPasquale’s 86th birthday.
DiPasquale is a changemaker who’s had a profound impact. So what is he most proud of when it comes to his legacy?
“A big part of my heart goes back to the way it started and the energy from the people who started it,” he explained.
“There were beautiful people in the South Philly AA group, most of whom have passed away, who helped me in the beginning, and a lot of people who donated money to us anonymously,” DiPasquale recalled.
“That’s the miracle that I talked about all the time. Any time we had financial trouble, something always came through to help.”
He points out the kindness of a man he helped who moved to Florida, made money, and left StartingPoint $100,000 in his will when he died. DiPasquale also helped another man get sober, who fixed the building’s gas as a favor when money was low. Several local contractors whom DiPasquale helped with their recovery also contributed money to the organization.
DiPasquale appreciates receiving feedback from people he has recently worked with — and being reminded of the impact StartingPoint made years ago.
“I live in a 55 and over community, and I was working on a social event, and a woman who lives here came over and gave me a big hug,” he recalled. “She told me with great pride that I helped her get sober in 1982 at Charter Fairmont in Philadelphia Hospital, and she is still sober today.
“This is what gives me the warm and fuzzy feelings. I know that so many lives have been touched by StartingPoint, including some of our counselors who are in recovery from mental health issues. I love that they are able to help people after helping others,” he said.
Overall, he said that one of the trends he sees is the impact of social media and technology, which has opened complicated new doors to mental illness. In this case, he said, addiction is a cover for everything that’s going on underneath it. A lot of younger people think they have everything together, and they haven’t discovered, yet, that they don’t.
Angela Baxter, the new StartingPoint director, came to the nonprofit as an intern. “I came to this building in 2020 with my stepchildren to get them the support and guidance they needed, and everything changed for the better. “
StartingPoint helped with her recovery and her career as a therapist. “Everything you need is under one roof — counseling for addiction, grief and loss, and support groups,” Baxter said. “I call it my home away from home.
“It is a beautiful place filled with wonderful practitioners.”
The underlying mission is paying everything forward, she said.
“We are extremely excited about hosting our 50th Anniversary Gala next year to honor what Vince created and a formidable program that provides support for people who are struggling, while it continues to grow,” Baxter said.
Board President Judy Ward became involved with StartingPoint nearly six years ago to help re-energize the board, shortly after the pandemic. It was a great match because of her history of caring about nonprofits as well as recovery and mental health awareness.
Ward owns Advanced Enviro Systems, a Camden business that employs more than 50 people, and its focus is on supporting individuals, as well as their struggles and triumphs. She was first introduced to the nonprofit 35 years ago.
One of the outstanding aspects of StartingPoint is that, unlike many other organizations, this counseling program is available to everyone – not just the residents of Collingswood or Haddon Township.
“StartingPoint has been doing this long before it became a business,” Ward said. “Rehab and mental health have become big business and ours is a grass-roots organization that is available and necessary.
“We know that the rates of teen suicide are out of control.”
In the United States, suicide is now the second leading cause of death among young people ages 10 to 24, behind unintentional injuries (including car accidents and drug overdoses). It’s a worsening crisis, shaped by mental illness, trauma, and unequal access to care.
StartingPoint has a strong partnership with Haddon Fortnightly, a local civic and social club, which has generously agreed to donate the proceeds of its annual Snowflake Run in Haddonfield to StartingPoint in order to help further the focus on teen suicide prevention and awareness.
“Individuals and families need support,” Ward said. “What makes StartingPoint special is how personal it is. Vince has a gift for matching people with the right counselor and the right path.”
That personalized approach continues to set the organization apart.
As StartingPoint prepares to mark its 49th anniversary on May 31, the focus isn’t just on the past, but on the future.
The work continues. The need remains. And the “miracle” that started with a single halfway house shows no signs of slowing down. “The hard work — and the miracles — keep happening,” Ward said.
https://startingpoint.org/. Phone: 856-854.3155, ext. 100. Donations are sincerely appreciated and can be made online or by check to The Starting Point, Inc. and mailed to: 215 Highland Ave., Suite C, Haddon Township, NJ, 08108.
