When Wade Girard Jones played football for Seaford High School, he gained valuable insight into effective teamwork. The co-captain also realized he was good with people. But after graduation, Jones stumbled. Not only did he lack a career path, but he landed on the wrong side of the law. 

Jones put his prison time to good use. “It gave me a chance at a young age to reevaluate my life and realize there had to be a better way,” he recalls. What’s more, he uses his experience to benefit others. The WilmU alumnus is the executive director of Alternative Solutions Consulting Group (ASCG) in Millsboro, Delaware. 

The practice offers mental health and substance abuse services and training. ASCG also provides management consulting in child and family counseling, substance abuse, HIV/AIDS, and prison reentry case management.

Earning licenses as a mental health counselor, chemical dependency professional, and certifications as an advanced alcohol and drug counselor and clinical supervisor is no small accomplishment. But Jones had encouragement from professors every step of the way. He was 31 when he enrolled at Delaware Technical Community College (DTCC) to study criminal justice. A DTCC dean told him to pursue a bachelor’s degree. “You can’t stop here,” he said.

So, Jones continued his education at WilmU when it was still Wilmington College. In 2006, he graduated with a B.S. in Behavioral Science. The University provided a welcoming, unintimidating environment for an adult student, says Jones, who worked two jobs while in school.

Once again, his instructors urged him to press forward. “I was scared to death,” he says of pursuing a master of science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at WilmU. Before smartphones became prevalent, he took a thesaurus and a dictionary to every class. 

His teachers put him at ease. “I had great instructors,” he says. “They actually taught; they didn’t just regurgitate information.” He learned to listen and find key clues in a client’s conversation. Too often, novice counselors have a lot of knowledge but don’t practice good listening skills, he notes. 

While learning to help others, Jones gained insight into himself. Looking back, he says the classes validated how he seeks to operate on a personal, professional, and ethical level, regardless of whether he is writing a paper or speaking.

In addition to receiving his master’s degree from WilmU, he has a post-master’s certificate in Child and Family Counseling and Mental Health. Jones is working toward a doctorate and teaches at Delaware State University, using the same approach his WilmU instructors practiced. 

The name Alternative Services is poetic, he says. Growing up in Seaford, he did not encounter licensed professional counselors of color. “It was just that simple: There was nobody that looked like me providing the services that I provide today,” he says. 

Raised by a single mother, Jones is the former statewide coordinator of Delaware Fatherhood and Family Coalition, an advocacy coalition that encourages fathers to be involved with their children. Jones never knew his father.

He says more people of color have entered the mental health field, partly thanks to WilmU’s flexible curriculum. People can work and tend to their families while still pursuing a degree. However, he adds that few people of color are in private practice in Sussex County.

Along with seeing private clients, Jones offers corporate employment assistance services and strategies that help federal, state, and local agencies manage mental health programs with measurable outcomes. ASCG also works with agencies supporting at-risk individuals and families to prevent service gaps. 

In his spare time, Jones hits the gym, plays basketball, and hopes to restart the flag football league that stopped during the pandemic. In the past, he coached sports at his old high school. “Kids are the greatest,” he says. “They keep you honest, and you can always spot a good person because young people gravitate toward them.” The once troubled teen wants youth to know “there’s always hope.”

During a speaking engagement,  Jones asked his audience if one’s truth could change. Some nodded, while others looked puzzled. “Wilmington University gave me the opportunity to look at life, situations, and scenarios differently,” he says. “So, yes, my truth changed because my perception of reality changed. That is the greatest gift that Wilmington University gives many of us — the opportunity to change our perspective on where we want to go in life.”

Jones is glad he listened to his mentors’ advice and pursued his degrees at WilmU. “I love what I do, and I impact people on a daily basis,” he says.

— Pam George