LEFLORE DRUG COURT MARKS 1ST SUCCESS

GREENWOOD - Leflore County's Drug Court, still in its developmental stage,
appears to already have its first success story.

The first participant in the program, which seeks to rehabilitate rather
than incarcerate drug addicts who commit nonviolent crimes, has completed a
45-day residential treatment program at Denton House and lives with a
family member.

As of next week, he will have been sober for 90 days. He is now required to
check in with Drug Court every two weeks, but he has gone beyond that,
voluntarily attending weekly aftercare classes.

"He's really a model participant," said Circuit Judge Betty Sanders, who
along with Circuit Judge Margaret Carey-McCray helped bring drug court to
Leflore, Sunflower and Washington counties.

If he stays clean, his drug court participation will absolve his felony charge.

But, Sanders said, the drug court's ultimate success hinges on what she has
identified as a couple of weak links: the availability of decent housing
and open spots in treatment programs.

A Sunflower County participant has not fared as well as the Leflore County
man. Without a clean living environment to return to, she moved back in
with her boyfriend, a drug dealer, and relapsed, Sanders said.

This participant is back in residential treatment in a Hinds County
facility until the drug court can find housing for her.

When dealing with addictions, any recovery is miraculous, said Fred
Guenther, the Denton House director who is a part of the drug court team's
treatment arm.

"There are going to be failures, but that's the nature of addiction," he
said. "The name of the game is relapse. We're working with what is
fundamentally a brain disease."

Denton House is currently serving three clients from Sunflower County's
Drug Court.

Nunan Center, another residential facility in Greenville, serves Washington
County. While the 45-day residential program is a step in the right
direction, it is not enough to cure the disease of addiction, Guenther said.

Drug Court tries to find a nurturing environment to reinforce the treatment
for the addicts; but, as in the Sunflower County case, that environment
often is not readily available.

Drug Court participants cannot overstep other citizens seeking housing.

"The list is long," Sanders said. "A lot of people need housing."

Participants have run into another block before they even get into
treatment. As state-run programs, Denton House and Nunan Center charge
clients within their districts $100 - a popular price that brings constant
waiting lists, said drug court team member Lee Williams, Nunan Center director.