GRADUATES TELL STORIES OF HOW ADULT TREATMENT COURT CHANGED THEIR LIVES

Celebration Highlights Court's 100th Graduate.

PONTIAC - Most people don't enter the Oakland County Courthouse with
smiles on their faces, but Wednesday was different.

The Oakland County Adult Treatment Court was celebrating its 100th
graduate with a ceremony and reception.

The 100th graduate, Terrie Auger, started her abuse of substances at
the age of 16 by using marijuana. As is most often the case with
teenagers, she never dreamed her dabbling with marijuana would evolve
into heroin addiction. More than 20 years and multiple crimes later,
she was sitting in Oakland County Jail pending sentencing. She
realized she needed the treatment court to hold her accountable.

She has been sober since Dec. 22, 2010 and now holds a full-time job,
which she noted is "the first one I've had for longer than two weeks."

Each of the six graduates had stories similar to hers. One by one,
they were called forward to hear comments by their probation officer
and program supervisor. The program participants each spoke, many
thanking the ATC, their family and God.

Judges Colleen O'Brien and Joan E. Young selected quotes for the
graduates. O'Brien called on Abraham Lincoln: "The best thing about
the future is that it comes one day at a time."

Four former ATC graduates were also honored, receiving Joshua Charles
Short Scholarships of $1,000 each. Short was only 20 years old when
he died of a drug overdose in 2008. His mother, Suzanne Okun,
courageously recognized that she could not remain quiet about her
son's death and decided to create a memorial scholarship to honor her
son and support those who have overcome their own addictions and
continue in their journey of recovery.

Okun told the audience the past three years since her son Joshua died
"seems like a lifetime and seems like yesterday." She asked the
graduates to think back to where they were three years ago. She said
that it was never easy and smooth, but no one achieves success
without loving support on the one hand, and someone who was willing
to "put their foot down when enough was enough."

One of the scholarship recipients who graduated Oct. 22, 2008, said,
"The program changed my life. It was tough; sometimes I wanted to
quit, but they gave me the tough love I needed."

She will be using her scholarship to attend Baker College.

The treatment court has served 358 participants. The court is a
four-phase intervention program for nonviolent felony offenders who
find it difficult to maintain sobriety. Without acceptance into the
program, these individuals would otherwise be facing a probable
sentence of months, if not years, in jail or prison.

The program's key elements are extremely close judicial and community
supervision, intense substance abuse treatment, frequent substance
abuse testing and a long-term commitment to program requirements.

The court expects participants to find and maintain employment,
consistently participate in treatment, pay court costs, including
restitution to the victims of their crimes, and take responsibility
for the support of their children.