FIRST DRUG COURT GRADUATES SHARE TALES OF TRIUMPH

Addicts Got Treatment Instead Of Jail Time

YORK -For the first five graduates of York County's drug court program,
Courtroom 2at the Moss Justice Center is a familiar place. They've visited
this room every Thursday for 18 months and stood before Judge Derek
Chiarenza to talk about their struggles and how well they were progressing
toward recovery.

But this Thursday night ran a little differently. After the regular drug
court session, the graduates who had successfully completed more than a
year of rigorous treatment, random drug tests and counseling received words
of encouragement and congratulations.

Most important, they also got certificates and a copy of an order
dismissing their charges.

More than 100 family members, friends and participants packed a room in
Moss Justice Center decorated with white and yellow ribbons and flowers.
Supporters and graduates cried tears of joy and told stories of lives
changed for the better.

One of the graduates, who dropped out of college, is working in
construction and planning to go back to school. The 21-year-old man said
he's also buying a house. Drug court officials asked that The Observer not
name the drug court participants.

"I'm doing things I never would have been able to do if I wasn't in this
program," he said before the graduation ceremony. "I can start over with
those dreams and hopes I had before."

The five graduates are among 50 people participating in the county's drug
court. The program, started in October 2001 by the 16th Circuit Solicitor's
Office, is aimed at treating the addictions of nonviolent drug offenders
and helping them become functioning citizens.

In return for pleading guilty to the charges against them, addicts get 12
to 18 months of intensive treatment instead of being sent to jail. The
charges are dropped if they complete treatment, stay out of trouble and
stay off drugs.

Some of the drug users got into the program because they were tired of the
lives they were leading. Others were afraid of the years they faced in
prison. But in the end, the graduates say they have become better, more
motivated people who've seen the positive changes the program has made in
their lives.

One of those was a 35-year-old woman who'd been using drugs since she was
12. She started on marijuana and beer and eventually got hooked on cocaine
and pain killers. She's a new grandmother and the mother of a drug-free
8-month-old. And now that the woman's drug-free, she said her 19-year-old
daughter can depend on her.

The woman has slowly restored the credit she destroyed, and recently bought
a new car. She's planning to get back the nursing license she lost because
of her addiction.

During part of the program, drug court participants receive treatment seven
days a week. Some of the clinical treatment is done by Keystone Substance
Abuse Services in Rock Hill.

Keystone's treatment director, Jamie Ferguson, said although the graduates
have finished the program, they'll have to continue fighting addiction
every day.

Ferguson has watched the participants transform their attitudes and
behavior, changes that might not have happened if they'd been sitting in a
jail cell.

"I've watched them go from cocoon to butterfly," he said.

Jan Gillespie, programs manager for the solicitor's office, said the drug
court staff wanted to make the final ceremony more than a handshake and
goodbye.

"It's such a tough program to go through," she said. "They're so proud of
themselves, and we're so proud of them that we want them to feel special."

Gillespie said the drug court staff plans to have a handful of graduation
ceremonies each year.

For staff members, this ceremony is just one example of the program's
success. So far, only seven participants have been dropped from the program.

"There's never been a time when I didn't think this was gonna work," said
Ann Melton, director of diversion programs for the solicitor's office.

Melton said the communication, ethics, family and problem-solving skills
taught though the program will help the graduates after they leave. Several
graduates said they had to learn to stop lying and to come up with ways
other than drugs to deal with problems.

Another 24-year-old drug court graduate started smoking marijuana and
drinking at 15. After high school he worked as a pizza delivery man to pass
the time and get some cash.

Now, he's doing the work he loves, fixing and selling boats, and he plans
to attend York Technical College in the fall.

"2002 was like the best year I've had," he said. "And this year will be
even better."