A Brooklyn doctor is using his childhood experiences to help people dealing with addiction.

Since 2012, Start Treatment and Recovery Centers CEO Dr. Lawrence Brown has been overseeing multiple “start” facilities across Brooklyn and Manhattan.

His work in the field spans decades, and he draws from his own experiences.

“I lost a lot of friends,” Brown says. “That was a neighborhood where we grew up, and in Brownsville, you either had to be a part of it or you then had to, in fact, be outside of it.”

George Jones, 61, walked through Start Treatment and Recover Centers’ doors around a decade ago and says the program works.

“I know I no longer wanted to be a part of that set, as far as substance abuse,” Jones says.

Brown says he values Jones and the hundreds of patients that he sees.

The Vietnam veteran says helping those with substance abuse and mental disorders is worth fighting for.

“I’ll be the first on the battlefield and the last to leave,” Dr. Brown says.

Dr. Brown says there is still a lot of work to do, but it brings him joy to serve in the line of work.