Finding a new beginning
By John Hilliard
Thursday, November 8, 2007

For Bill Phillips, battling substance abuse as a teen and young man cost him friends and put him on the wrong road in life.

But overcoming those struggles gave him an insight with kids facing the same problems — and how to help kids survive them.

"You can get your life back and become a better person," said Phillips, Framingham's truant officer, who has spent 20 years working with at-risk youth across the state.

"You try to get them into a situation where they can get healthy," he said.
That program — "New Beginnings" — has been seen by an estimated quarter million students over the past two decades, and offers kids substance abuse efforts, violence prevention and halting other risky behavior.

Recently, Phillips, 62, was honored with the Citizen in Action award by Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone during this year's School Safety Conference in Woburn.

The award is given to someone who lives or works in Middlesex County and helps make a difference in communities by promoting health or safety. The honor is given to school workers or law enforcement officials.

A statement from the Middlesex DA's office credited Phillips as "a truly devoted public servant" and said he "has had a phenomenal impact on those he has served."

That influence with kids, and his understanding of their struggles, was hard won.

"The kids we're talking about, I was one of them," said Phillips, whose office is housed inside Keefe Tech.

John "Jack" Wescott, Keefe's principal until his retirement 10 years ago, said Phillips has made himself available to helping people over the course of their lives.

"I've heard from many students who said Billy was like a second father to them," said Wescott, who called Phillips a role model and friend.

A Framingham High graduate, Phillips was a gifted athlete in school, but had a trouble home life with an alcoholic father. Phillips himself had his first drink when he was a sixth-grader.

He got into fights and had run-ins with the law, but under the guidance of a now-retired Framingham District Court judge, Robert Campion, Phillips cleaned himself up at age 35 after a visit to Watertown High School.

Campion often visited schools to discourage students from substance abuse, but on one trip to Watertown High, he brought along Phillips to talk about his own experiences in front of 700 kids and parents.

"I had to talk, and for the first time in my life I heard myself saying it," said Phillips.

He started crying during the session, and a few parents consoled him, he said. Afterwards, he decided to get his life back on track.

Campion said Phillips was crucial to help run the program for at-risk kids.

"He's shown them a way to change their lives," said Campion, who was a judge at Framingham District Court until his retirement in 1998. "To save lives, it's not an easy thing to do."

Phillips said some kids don't take substance abuse programs seriously, thinking no one understands those kids and the problems they face. Phillips will often share his own experiences with them. The result?

"They listen more," he said.

He also encourages students to speak about their own struggles.

"Kids listen to kids ...  they know deep inside what they're doing isn't right. They want to know what happens," said Phillips.

He's happy with his life — he's married now, with four children — and is doing the work he loves.

Phillips said he was talking to a friend once about his own life, and Phillips told that friend he wanted to join the clergy growing up.

"I wanted to be a priest," said Phillips. "And the person said, "You're doing the same work."

(John Hilliard can be reached at 508-626-4449 or jhilliar@cnc.com.)

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