MAUI DRUG COURT GRADS LOOK BACK ON SUCCESSES

They Offer Advice As Fourth Class Finishes Program

WAILUKU -- The day after he graduated from the Maui Drug Court, Leslie Maeda
did some of the same things he had done while going through the intensive
treatment program for a year.

He went to meetings of a support group. He called his sponsor. And he kept
in touch with others working on staying drug-free and sober.

"You continue doing what got you this far," said Maeda, who had felony drug
charges against him dismissed when he became one of the program's first
graduates Oct. 11, 2001. "It's an ongoing process."

In the two years since the Maui Drug Court began accepting clients, 40
nonviolent offenders have completed the minimum 12- to 15-month routine that
includes drug testing, group meetings, individual counseling and regular
hearings before 2nd Circuit Judges Shackley Raffetto and Joseph Cardoza.

Instead of facing incarceration for drug-related crimes, the graduates have
had charges dismissed.

While three graduates have been rearrested, for a 7.5 percent recidivism
rate, "many more of them are living their lives and doing great in jobs,"
said Lillian Koller, Maui Drug Court coordinator.

Two graduates and a current Drug Court participant work at Ruby's Diner,
which opened nine months ago at Queen Ka'ahumanu Center in Kahului. Managing
Partner Kirk Baldridge knew about the applicants' criminal pasts and their
participation in Drug Court before hiring the three.

"They just happen to be our best employees," Baldridge said. "There's
something to be said about people in life that hit that proverbial rock in
the road and can bounce back and look at life totally differently.

"They have gone through the school of hard knocks. They're just enthusiastic
about the opportunity to get another chance and show what they're all about.

"They have hurt people all their lives. Now this is a chance to do it all
the right way."

As the Drug Court prepares to graduate its fourth class Thursday, Maeda and
other alumni offered some advice to the new graduates, drawing on their
experiences in the months since they passed that benchmark.

"Take responsibility," said Alan Gaspar, who considers Drug Court his
greatest accomplishment.

"For 39 years, I was doing drugs, starting at age 11 sniffing paint," said
the 49-year-old Wailuku resident. "I never liked responsibilities, that's
why I took drugs."

Six months before he was arrested in a drug bust, Gaspar overdosed on
heroin.

"They pronounced me dead," he said. "I woke up two days later in the
hospital. But I still didn't want to learn. I wanted to get out to get
high."

Facing drug charges, Gaspar decided to embrace the program that offered him
a chance to avoid prison by participating in daily urine tests, meetings and
classes.

"They won't stop me from using drugs but teach me how to live my life
without the use of drugs and alcohol," he said. "Holding on to
responsibilities - that's what made my life change."

One year after graduating from Drug Court, he works at a Kihei condominium
complex, never once calling in sick at the job he has held since May 2001.

"They rely on me," said Gaspar, who has prospects for a promotion. "I'm
being responsible and focused on my life. I go to work. I got to pay my
rent. Everything is all legal. It's a good feeling.

"When I step out the door, I get the peace. Before, I was looking around to
see where's the cops."

To succeed, Gaspar and others said Drug Court participants have to be
committed to making changes in their lives.

Gaspar's son turned down the opportunity to participate in Drug Court,
deciding he wouldn't be able to meet the program's strict requirements. He
was sentenced to a five-year prison term earlier this year.

"Some people just not ready," said Rick Salazar, who graduated in June. "You
got to be willing to change everything. You got to be really serious to
finish. You got to want it."

For Salazar, the hardest part wasn't getting off drugs but "identifying
myself as being an addict."

He moved to Maui from Kauai in 1996, thinking the change of environment
would stop him from using drugs. "I didn't know anybody here," he said. "All
it took was getting introduced to another person that was using."

"Be honest with yourself," was one recommendation Salazar had for new
graduates.

After staying off drugs while serving a jail term on Kauai, he returned to
Maui to face drug charges in connection with an earlier police raid on his
house. Instead of going to prison, he was accepted into the Drug Court
program.

"I learned a lot about myself in this program," said Salazar, who is a floor
supervisor for Ruby's Diner, a job that includes having keys to the
business. "People trusting me now.

"It's good to be straight and go to work. I can talk to people eye to eye. I
don't have to be shame."

The 38-year-old Wailuku resident also teaches keiki hula at Ka Hale A Ke Ola
Homeless Resource Center in Wailuku.

He credits his brother and his wife, with whom he is raising three young
children, for supporting him.

"She's not a user. She stuck by my side through my prison term," Salazar
said. "The only thing I care about is my family, what they got to go
through.

"I wake up in the morning, I look myself in the mirror and I like who I see.
Before, I was just strung out. I was an 'ice' addict. I would stay up for
days and days at a time, even weeks. Now I'm more of a family person."

Russell Collier, a waiter, said staying honest has kept him sober.

Instead of stealing to support his drug habit, "I work hard for my money,"
said the 26-year-old Haiku resident who has a second job and is also
studying to be a Realtor.

"It was harder to get out of the state of mind than to get off drugs," he
said.

Collier had faced 29 charges, including burglary, car theft, drug possession
and escape, dismissed when he graduated from the Drug Court in February.

He advises others to "do an inventory of their life, really look at what
they have and where it came from."

He also suggests that graduates "keep yourself active, keep yourself busy."

Nelson Rodrigues, a February graduate, is among those who have attended
weekly meetings of an alumni aftercare group to "hang with sober support."

At first, when he entered Drug Court to avoid jail on charges involving a
stolen van, the 31-year-old Paukukalo resident said he didn't realize what
he would have to do.

"I had to face my feelings, be responsible," he said.

Stephen Borges also didn't realize what he was getting into when he opted
for Drug Court, but he now runs a support group meeting.

The 34-year-old Wailuku resident obtained the equivalent of his high school
diploma while in Drug Court, works as a pipefitter apprentice and recently
bought insurance for his vehicle for the first time.

"Get the most out of the program," the July graduate advises participants.
"I believe if I stop being grateful for what I have and forget consequences
and don't express myself, I will go back to drugs."

Michelle said attending the weekly meetings despite often being the only
woman has helped her remain committed to recovery.

"Stay away from old friends," recommends the 36-year-old Kahului resident,
who asked that her last name not be used.

Before graduating in February from the Drug Court, she faced drug charges.
"I changed my friends," she said. "My main drive is my kids."

Maeda, who has been sober for about 2¢ years, said setting goals and staying
motivated are keys to his recovery.

"I've already made the decision not to use for the rest of my life," he
said.

A few months after graduating from Drug Court, Maeda completed training on
the Mainland to become a case worker at IMPACT-Maui, which runs the Drug
Court treatment program.

He said he was looking for a career change after about 15 years of cooking
and advancing to become an executive chef.

He is attending Maui Community College to become certified as a drug
treatment counselor, with the goal of continuing to help others.

"We're just good people who made some bad choices," Maeda said. "We have to
learn the values we were brought up with and use those values again in our
lives."