It was standing room only at the 52-2 District Court’s graduation ceremony for Sobriety Court participants Thursday.
It was the fifth graduation since the program’s inception nearly four years ago, and last week’s ceremony honored the largest number of graduates thus far?14.
All in all, more than 40 individuals have completed the program, and facilitators say Sobriety Court is succeeding in many ways.
‘Events like the one we had Thursday night remind me why I do this job,? said Sobriety Court Probation Officer Mark Mathur, who handles the program’s day-to day operations and makes sure defendants comply with Sobriety Court conditions.
‘It’s remarkable to see these people walking away from addictions and living their lives, becoming productive members of society again.?
A person must be at least a second offense drunk driver, have no violent offenses on his or her record, and reside within jurisdiction of the 52-2 District Court to participate in Sobriety Court.
The program lasts between 15 months and 24 months, depending on performance’participants are required to take part in individual counseling and 12-step programs, attend review hearings, submit to regular drug and alcohol screening, and report to their probation officer on assigned days.
The program requires commitment from participants, as well as family members, and Mathur said he was pleased to see look into the audience at last week’s graduation and see the faces of so many who came to lend support.
‘I made a point of addressing everyone out there,? he said. ‘Recovery is truly not going to happen without the support of family members.?
Many of those family members thanked Mathur ‘for everything? after the ceremony.
‘I told them ‘no, your son or daughter or husband of wife did all the tough work. I just had to push them in the right direction.??
The 52-2 District Court joined a national movement toward programs like Sobriety Court in November 2004 as repeat drunk driving offenses continued to increase across the area.
Today, nearly 2000 such programs operate in courts across the U.S.
At the 52-2 District Court, which serves the city of Clarkston, the townships of Independence, Springfield, Brandon, Groveland, Holly, Rose and White Lake, along with the villages of Ortonville and Holly, both Judge Kelley Kostin and Judge Dana Fortinberry have said an important key to success is keeping the program small.
‘We get to know our participants and the individual challenges each one of them faces in their daily lives,? said Fortinberry, noting that other well-intentioned programs try to reach as many offenders as possible, but often struggle to achieve or maintain a successful outcome.
?(Participants) begin to understand that we truly care about their success in the program, and that makes a difference. I don’t know how you can effectively reach three of four hundred people at a time.?
The program uses a team approach’the judge, prosecutor, probation officer, coordinator and treatment providers regularly meet to review and discuss each case.
Participants must maintain regular employment or attend an education program.
They must also pay costs of Sobriety Court, which’when fees for fines, testing, and therapy are totaled’usually amounts to somewhere between $5,000 and $7,500 by the time graduation day rolls around.
Although the program is going well, Fortinberry said there’s always room for improvement’the addition of another probation officer to help with the workload is a possibility, and there’s also discussion about forming a an advisory board.
‘I’d really like to bring in different members of the community,? she said. ‘There may be things we could be doing, different means of helping our participants that we’re not even aware of.?