FULLERTON DRUG COURT PRODUCES FIRST GRADUATES

Seven People Complete North Justice Center Program, Which Is An Alternative
To Jail

FULLERTON--Thomas Gilson is ready to walk on water. He said he has
developed enough faith in himself in the last 15 months to keep him
afloat and away from drugs.

"You have to make the decision and forget about what happened in the
past and step out on the water," he said.

"You won't sink if you have the faith to continue to go
forward."

Gilson, a 41-year-old Anaheim resident, is one of seven people who
graduated Thursday from the North Justice Center's Drug Court program.
He and the other graduates have successfully completed an intensive
drug rehabilitation program run jointly by the court, district
attorney's office, county Health Care Agency and various police
departments.

"You take people that normally you just throw in jail and you see then
back again and again through a revolving door," said Commissioner
Erick Larch, who pioneered the Drug Court program in North Court in
January 1999. The program costs about $2,800 annually per person,
Larsh said. The cost of jailing one person for a year is about
$20,370. There is a 10% recidivism rate in the program.

Larsh's hopes of seeing all members of his first Drug Court class
graduate has almost completely come true. He has dismissed the felony
drug charges of all but one person. That person failed the program
because he tested positive at his last drug test.

"He had a job and no other crime violations," Larsh
said.

He didn't make it because of his own fear and lack of self-confidence
to keep clean without Drug Court, Larsh said.

The penalty for failing the program depends on the circumstances,
ranging from repeating a section of the course to being sentenced to
jail.

Life after Drug Court is not expected to be easy. The program is so
regimented and filled with 12-step meetings, counseling sessions and
court appearances some participants are afraid of the gap it will
leave in their lives when it's over.

"To give the meetings up will be dangerous," said Richard McLeroy, 35,
who is graduating from the program after a 20-year struggle with drug
addiction. "You get caught up in yourself. I need to keep the people
around who are in recovery. If I start thinking I need to use it
again, I can talk to someone."

McLeroy, a Fullerton resident, is involved in three groups, all
voluntary. He will continue to serve in each after graduation as
treasurer, literature circulator and secretary, respectively.

"I think I have gone through the hardest part," said Jeff Bird, 32,
who is also graduating.

But the Brea resident said he is ready to start life without the Drug
Court because he has the support of relatives and friends.

Family and friends are a big part of Drug Court's recovery program.
Many participate in counseling sessions and attend the weekly status
reports each participant is required to present in court.

Thomas Gilson III, 18, sees the change in his father. He said he
celebrated the graduation not only with his family but also friends
who were proud of his father's accomplishment.

"My dad for all my life had been on drugs," Gilson said. "It took the
police to stop him, and I thank the cop that arrested him and God
because I know he would have been dead not too long from now if he had
kept going."