Participant Says Drug Court Saved His Life

COURT HOUSE — Three individuals graduated from Cape May County Drug Court and 14 others commenced to the program’s final phase on Sept. 15 in a celebration of its five-year anniversary in the local courts.
The ceremony included remarks from Drug Court Judge Susan Maven, Cape May/Atlantic Vicinage Assignment Judge Valerie Armstrong, Trial Court Administrator Howard Berchtold and N.J. Supreme Court Justice John E. Wallace Jr.
Maven presided over the event and noted that Drug Court is generally a five-year process in which participants have to report to probation less frequently as they progress. The program is targeted at nonviolent offenders who are likely to benefit from addiction counseling.
“While each Graduation Ceremony is a wonderful occasion, today’s celebration is particularly noteworthy,” Maven said.
“It is my hope that by joining us today that Phase 1, 2 and 3 participants are encouraged to remain steadfast in their recovery program; that family members and friends are encouraged to remain supportive and realize that, while it will take time, change and rehabilitation can happen; that the public, employers and others are now better informed that our participants can become or return to be productive members of our community, good employees, and good neighbors.”
In her remarks, Armstrong noted that the local Drug Court program started in September 2004. She noted that since that time: 577 defendants have been sentenced to the program; 315 active participants; 26 graduates; the retention rate is 61.3 percent; and 20 drug-free babies have been born as a result of their mothers participating in the program.
In their speeches as they accepted recognition for their accomplishments, the drug court participants almost unanimously thanked God and Lorraine for getting them through this difficult period in their lives.
Lorraine Horner is a drug treatment counselor who works at Cape Counseling Behavioral Healthcare Services in Court House.
Horner helps drug court participants through their Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) sessions three times a week for 12 weeks. IOP is one of the difficult steps in drug court and when participants are finished with it, they can’t thank Horner enough.
“I give them some tools to deal with their recovery,” Horner told the Herald. “But I don’t really do anything. It’s their willingness to learn the tools. They do all the work.”
One of the participants who’s put in the work and commenced to drug court’s final phase said Horner really helped him get to where he is today. The participant, who did not want to be identified in this story, will be referred to as Charlie.
“Lorraine was great,” Charlie said. “She really helped me through a difficult time.”
In addition to his IOP, Charlie said Lorraine also helped him complete a Relapse Prevention Program.
Charlie, a middle-aged white male, is an alcoholic and a drug addict. He’s been in and out of county jail several times over the years and a patient at Ancora Mental Hospital on more than 10 occasions.
“It was all related to drugs and alcohol,” he said.
In August 2007, Charlie was hooked on prescription drugs and facing DWI, drug, theft and burglary charges in several Cape May County towns.
“All of those crimes were done in the span of three months while I was under the influence of prescription drugs and alcohol,” Charlie said. “I barely remember doing any of them. I was having regular blackouts.”
According to a Drug Court fact sheet, 70 to 85 percent of all crime in the U.S. is committed by persons under the influence of drugs our alcohol.
Charlie was given the choice of a four-year prison term or drug court.
“It was an easy choice,” he said.
He said drug court was difficult, but rewarding.
Participants are subject to curfews, random visits from probation officers and mandatory recovery meetings such as Narcotics Anonymous (NA) and Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Drug Court provides needed structure for alcoholics and drug addicts who sometimes lack structure in their regular lives.
“Even in NA and AA, there is structure, but there’s no authority, no bosses. You’re only accountable to yourself and God,” Charlie said, noting that for him the structure of Drug Court was extremely important. “In Drug Court, you have to follow the rules or there’s consequences.”
Charlie noted that there is a stigma that is attached to Drug Court.
“It might not be so bad if they called it Drunk Court. There’s less of a stigma in society with alcoholism,” he said. “But it’s important that the public realize that both alcoholism and drug addiction are diseases. Drug Court participants aren’t bad people trying to get good; we’re sick people trying to get well.”
In her remarks at the ceremony, Maven answered the question — Who are these Drug Court participants?
“The Drug Court participants are your neighbors, your co-workers, your mother or father, sister or brother or your child,” Maven said.
“They are people who may have started out as social drinkers like you, but who are now seriously addicted. They are people who may have suffered an injury but got addicted to their pain medication. They are people who committed crimes but had at their core an addiction that was the baseline problem. They are courageous people who have submitted themselves to the close supervision and treatment that makes it possible for them to now hold their heads up, look themselves in the mirror and live soberly day by day.”
Charlie also noted how these afflictions affect anybody from every walk of life.
“Alcoholics and drug addicts come from Yale and jail,” he said. “We (Drug Court participants) just happen to be the ones from jail.
Today, Charlie has repaid nearly all of the fines and restitution levied against him for his crimes. He also has a job on the Wildwood Boardwalk.
“My boss on the Boardwalk told me he’d never hire me again back when I was using drugs and alcohol,” Charlie said. “When he saw how serious I was about my recovery, he took me back. He knows I’m an honest guy.”
Drug courts save lives and reduce costs. Every dollar spent on treatment leads to a $7.46 reduction in crime-related spending and lost productivity, according to a study conducted for the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
Charlie is now a productive member of society and not incarcerated in taxpayer-funded state prison, but he needs to remain vigilant.
“Drug Court literally saved my life,” Charlie said. “But I know that if I don’t stick with a 12-step program and follow it to the best of my ability, I’ll be right back where I was — either in jail or dead.”
Contact Hart at (609) 886-8600 Ext 35 or at: jhart@cmcherald.com
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