MATTER OF HARD TO GET IN, HARDER TO GRADUATE

Addicted to crack and living on the street, Glen Colton knew his life
could go one of two ways.

"I was lucky it took me to jail rather than the cemetery," Colton,
31, said in a recent interview. "When I was arrested I was almost
relieved. I got a couple of good nights sleep and that really opened my eyes."

It was in jail in 2007, charged with possession of crack for the
purpose of trafficking, when Colton made a choice that finally set
him on the road to a new life of sobriety and promise. Colton agreed
to participate in the Winnipeg Drug Treatment Court program, a pilot
project geared to steering drug addicts out of the justice system.

The program includes intensive counselling sessions and weekly court
dates designed to encourage and support participants in their drive
to recovery.

At his lowest point, Colton was living in his car, spending every
cent he had to buy drugs.

"I'd show up at my mom's house and she would lock the door and hide,"
he said. "Nobody in my family wanted to talk to me. At one point my
sister literally ran away from me."

Since graduating from the program in 2008, Colton earned his high
school diploma and is now enrolled in college, training to become an
addictions counsellor.

"I never thought I would get my high school," he said. "To go to
college, I never thought that was an option ... It's totally amazing.
I love everything about it."

A recent evaluation by the University of Winnipeg's criminal justice
department concluded the five-year-old program has "hit its stride"
but still has room for improvement, particularly in its graduation
rate, now sitting at 37%.

Supporters say the program's future is under a cloud. The federal
government provides $516,000 in annual funding but has given no
indication whether funding will be extended beyond March 2012.

"With no confirmation it will be extended we will have to stop taking
new clients," said program chairman Jeremy Akerstream.

Colton credits the program with changing his life.

"I would probably be in jail if not dead without this program," he
said. "I had done other programs before and they actually fuelled my
rebellion into wanting to use more."

Linda -- not her real name -- was addicted to crystal meth and
selling the drug to support her habit when she was arrested in 2007.

"To be honest, I didn't care about a jail sentence," she said. "I
didn't think anyone would notice I was gone ... I didn't see myself
living much longer."

Facing an almost certain jail sentence, she pleaded guilty to
trafficking and enrolled in the drug treatment court program.

Linda said the drug court program gave her life structure and the
support she needed to focus on her recovery.

"They allowed me to have my rent and bills paid ... I had a safe
place to stay," she said.

Linda has been drug free for over three years and now works as an
administrative assistant. She says the drug treatment court program
is money well spent.

"It costs a lot of money to keep people in jail," she said. "If (the
program) works, you are no longer spending money on keeping people
locked up. We are talking about people who are sick and looking for help."