HURON — “You can't make a 99 percent change in your life,” a very emotional Ricki Boyle told her small audience Wednesday afternoon. “You've got to change it all.”
Boyle was speaking to the participants of Beadle County Drug Court, at the group's regular meeting, about how addiction has taken its toll on her family.
But it may not have been what they expected.
“I'm not an addict,” she said. “You probably see someone who has her stuff together, has a job, a car, a family. But just like everyone I struggle. I struggle to get over the death of my brother.”
Boyle shared how her life changed on April 9 this year. Her phone rang late at night and she recognized her brother Chris' girlfriend's number.
“That usually meant something bad,” she said. “Something stupid they had done or maybe they were in trouble for something stupid they had done.” Boyle said that both her brother and his girlfriend were drug abusers and there had been other late night calls.
She didn't answer the call and a voicemail notice popped up. “I listened and she was crying and saying that Chris was in the hospital. Honestly, I felt annoyed,” she said.
She did call back and asked what the heck was going on and the girlfriend said that Chris had been involved in an altercation and had been stabbed. “She said, 'He didn't make it,'” Boyle said. “I was used to her lying, so until I heard it from a deputy I didn't believe it.”
Boyle said that her brother had battled depression for nearly all his life. He progressed from smoking, to using marijuana and alcohol to ease the pain.
“Chris had done things to get sober before,” Boyle said. “He had gotten counseling and had made the decision to get better; to get his life together. He did it all on his own.
“But the one thing he didn't do was to distance himself from the people he knew when he was an addict,” she said. “I believe if he had made that change, he'd be with us today.”
Chris was assaulted by people he knew, who were all addicts and repeat drug offenders. “They attacked him that night,” Boyle said tearfully. “Basically, Chris just ticked off the wrong person.”
Boyle was invited to be a guest speaker by Joan Nettinga, the Beadle County Drug Court Coordinator, who handles the same job with the Brookings County unit. Boyle had spoken in Brookings and her story resonated.
Drug Court
Drug Court is an alternative to jail or prison for felony offenders with legal issues stemming from drug or chemical addictions. No defendants with violent offenses or distribution charges are allowed into the program. Offenders must apply to be in drug court and are often 'sentenced' to the program if they are accepted.
A team of professionals monitor the progress of the participants. The team is comprised of a judge, a prosecuting and a defense attorney, representatives from both the county sheriff's and local police department, a court services officer specifically for drug court, a coordinator and treatment providers. The treatment providers represent both chemical dependency treatment and mental health.
When one is approved for Drug Court, they enter Phase 1 of the program. Participants advance through the five phases based on a combination of days in the program and days sober. Often those days are different, as there are relapses, but participants are counseled to not give up the battle. For some, it doesn't work and participants accepted into the program can also be terminated from it.
The participant's original jail sentence is suspended while they are in Drug Court. They continue to make payments on any fines imposed by the court. For those who complete the five phases, their graduation from the program completes their sentence.
On this day, Drug Court is a round-table discussion, led by Judge Patrick McCann. Each person takes a ribbon and medal off a board when they come in, signifying which phase each is in. The discussion is overwhelmingly positive and supportive - participants speak about good things going on in their lives. For those who have exceptional weeks, a reward is given. The participant draws a slip of paper from a fishbowl for a prize either purchased from, or donated by, a local business. Today, a $10 coupon at a local restaurant is claimed. When participants make payments on outstanding fines, McCann has the discretion to suspend some costs as a different type of reward.
The biggest benefit of Drug Court is that the 13 people at Wednesday's session are not in jail.
They hold jobs, care for their families, pay their bills and contribute. There are costs to Drug Court, although Nettinga said that those costs are a fraction of the costs to house an inmate at the penitentiary.
The responsibility for remaining sober lies with the individual. The support system is in place, but the onus is on them. They must attend meetings with treatment providers, support meetings and meetings with Drug Court staff. Attendance and being on time for those meetings is important. Many of the participants have family members in the gallery to support them.
Change Everything
Boyle said that her family has crumbled since Chris' death. “But I have been and am in counseling,” she said. “I am now able to set aside the pain, the suffering and the heartache and I can sleep at night. I am beginning to work on getting things better with my family.”
She encouraged the participants to use the resources at their disposal through the program. “Your decisions impact your family's lives and making the decision to change is hard. That's OK if it's hard. I made the decision not to tell my brother that I was having a birthday party for my baby daughter,” she said. That birthday party, to which he was not invited, was a mere two days before his death. “That was hard, but it was a healthy decision for me.”
Boyle said the one thing that she wanted all of the participants to remember can be boiled down to two words: ‘Change Everything.’
“You know the people in your life who are not healthy to have in your life. My brother was not a bad person - he had an addiction. That's all. He had made the decision to do many of the right things. If he had done the final thing, made that decision, he would be here today.”
