DRUG COURT CHANGES MANY LIVES

Shenet Brewer had one shot to turn her back on a life of trouble with drugs
and the law.

A year later, she was among the first graduates of the area's first drug
court which takes non-violent offenders and puts them on a rigorous program
to change.

"Life after drugs," she mused at a ceremony on Tuesday. "Who would've thought?"

It's appropriate that the event marking the court's anniversary came two
days before Thanksgiving. After all, many of those at the birthday party
Tuesday credited the program with giving them a new life.

The drug court was initiated by Forrest-Perry Circuit Judge Bob Helfrich,
who made addressing narcotics cases a top priority when he was elected.
With private money from the Asbury Foundation, Helfrich has been able to
extend the service to 82 people.

If they had been sent to jail, Helfrich said the drug offenders would have
learned "only to become better criminals." Instead, many of them went
through a program that mandates attendance at 12-step meetings, checks on
work records and requires drug testing.

The results are quantifiable - about 70 percent of participants pass
through without falling back into drug abuse.

Beyond the numbers are human success stories that stale statistics don't
relate.

"This program has given me the chance to provide a sober life for me and my
child," said Lindsay Sly, who is expecting a baby and just started a new job.

Backing up the program's participants are Helfrich and a small staff.
Without their passion for helping others the program wouldn't be nearly as
successful.

The program has been studied as a possible model for other programs. It is
possible that representatives from other courts would travel to Hattiesburg
to see it in action.

The success must also be measured against a backdrop of a troubled past for
the Forrest-Perry Circuit Court, where prior to Helfrich's election those
charged with crimes could wait up to three years in jail without their day
in court. The system was so mired with backlogged cases that it ceased to
function effectively and many records weren't even computerized.

All of that has changed. So, too, have the lives of many of those who have
passed through the drug court.

Changing lives is a difficult task. The drug court's staff and participants
are up to the challenge.