HURON Work the program. Reach out for help. Set your boundaries, expect nothing but always be grateful.
Those were the words with which graduates of the Beadle County Drug Court program closed Wednesdays Drug Court Alumni Day at the Beadle County Courthouse.
It was the second annual Alumni Day in the Beadle County Drug Court part of the South Dakota Unified Judicial Systems Treatment Court System and is scheduled to coincide with National Treatment Court Month in May.
On Wednesday, 10 individuals who have completed the five phases of the Beadle County Drug Court shared recollections of their time in the program, how they have taken what they learned and applied it to their lives following drug court and talked of continuing to work the program.
Third Circuit Magistrate Judge Abigail Howard was moderator for the question and answer session and shared some facts about the effectiveness of treatment courts.
There are now more than 4,000 treatment courts in the United States, Howard said. Treatment courts are the single most successful intervention in our nations history, for leading people with substance use and mental health disorders out of the justice system and into lives of recovery, stability and health.
The graduate panelists talked of the good things and bad things of drug court, but nearly all credited the structure of the program, the counseling they received and the continued support they feel, from others in the program or from recovery support groups that meet multiple times per week in Huron.
Addiction will get you if you hang out with the wrong people, one graduate told the group of current participants. There is a reason that they (the drug court team) tell you who and who not to hang out with.
All of the little rules lead to big rules, said another graduate. When I entered the program I was a 25-year hot mess. And it took some time for me to get it, but the rules make sense.
In addition to graduates, current participants and community supporters, former S.D. Supreme Court Chief Justice David Gilbertson was in the audience Wednesday.
I have been to graduations in all 19 of the problem solving courts and they are all unique, Gilbertson said after the event. Every person has a different story on how they got here and how it worked out for them.
Gilbertson was instrumental in launching the treatment court program while serving as chief justice and he remains a firm believer in it.
When you leave you just have a positive feel after hearing their stories. As a judge, so much of what you do doesnt have that bright ending. Without a doubt, being a part of drug court was the high point of my 20 years as chief justice.
It is wonderful to hear the stories of continued success following graduation, Gilbertson said, because the goal is a change of lifestyle, not to simply graduate a program.
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