Wrentham couple with a deep love for Patriots helping people recover from addiction
WRENTHAM - Joanne and Lenny Hensas have a deep love for the New England Patriots, but nothing matches their fight to help people recovering from addiction.
Around the Patriots, they are royalty. Joanne is known as the "Cookiemama."
"I started making cookies when Mrs. Kraft passed away. It started for just once in a while and then it became an obsession with them and a superstition more so," she told WBZ-TV.
Lenny is known as "X-Ray Lenny," because he lucked into becoming the team's x-ray tech more than 20 years ago.
"I was basically collecting tickets for Joanne's charity and these two guys walked by and they were x-ray techs and I said, I'm an x-ray tech and it kind of evolved from there to get the job," he told WBZ.
As they watch the Patriots games in their home in Wrentham, they are surrounded by Pats memorabilia. But the local football team is not their only passion. Lenny lost his son to drugs years ago.
"My son was a crack addict for 24 years. He started when he was 16 and died when he was 40. He was up and down, he had times when he was good and he helped people," Lenny said.
Now through a sober house for men, named Gilly's house, Joanne and Lenny help others in recovery. They've seen the results.
"They had choices of whether they would go to jail or go to Gilly's, and one gentleman did go to Gilly's and he's been clean and sober, he's been out, he's got a job. He's working for the state," Lenny said.
So Lenny and Joanne really love the Pats.
"As far as the ups and downs for me, they are my guys today and tomorrow," Joanne said.
But their work at Gilly's House and helping those in recovery, well, they also put in a Pro Bowl effort.
"If you can find a way to make it better for the next people so they don't go through what we're going through, that's our passion," Joanne told WBZ.
For more information on Gilly's House, visit their website.
