3 graduate from county's drug treatment court
Butler County's Drug Treatment Court held its 20th graduation ceremony recently with Garrett Barnes, Donny Stewart and Greg Smith becoming the 26th, 27th and 28th graduates.
Barnes said from the very beginning he didn't believe he could complete the drug treatment court program, but stuck it out to become one of the success stories.
“I wanted to change my life, but more so I wanted to get out of jail immediately,” he said. “But then this program gave me an opportunity for treatment and helped me humble myself. My life is better than it has been before my addiction.”
Barnes said he was in and out of jail “constantly” and never got the opportunity for treatment, until he sought out the program.
“As soon as I got in it, I saw the high levels of accountability,” he said. “Before this, I was doing the same stuff (and) expecting different results. Being told 'no,' that structure molded me into the person I am today. This program really helped me get my life back above and beyond what it ever has been. Every time I was in the cockpit of the plane, I crashed. Until now.”
Barnes said when he inquired about the program he heard many positive, but also negative, reactions.
“But that negative stuff was coming from people who were having trouble or were terminated,” he said. “This program gives you the tools, it is all in how you use them.”
Stewart echoed many of those sentiments, saying the program helped bring him out of the depths of his addiction. Now a certified peer specialist and executive director of nonprofit organization @ReachOut831, which is dedicated to promoting mental health awareness and suicide prevention, Stewart said the program made him aware “of all the things going on in my life, so I don't screw them up.”
“Everything was negative, I didn't change any behaviors for a long time,” he said. “I pushed my family away, I was alone. My grandfather, who was one of the victims, I never thought I'd talk to him again, and he is here supporting me. I got all that back.”
But Stewart said he recognizes there is still work to be done.
“Just because I completed drug court doesn't mean I'm cured or I'm fixed,” he said. “But because of this program I have a chance to succeed, for my feet to hit the ground and keep running.”
Smith thanked the drug court team, saying, “you for real saved my life.”
“I would probably be dead right now if I wasn't in this program,” he said. “Now I have my family back in my life, and I recognize all the stuff people take for granted.”
He told those still in the program to continue working hard to succeed, and their goals will come true.
Adam Kummer, Drug Treatment Court coordinator and Butler County probation officer, said the graduation ceremonies are always “very humbling” because of the amount of work each participant puts into the program.
Kummer spoke about each graduate, extolling the positive changes each man has made along their path to recovery, including reconnecting with family, becoming business owners or starting nonprofit organizations to help others.
He said the men's' success “embodies everything this program is all about.”
“This is an important program because it gives these people the opportunity to have their lives back,” he said.
He said not only does it change the offender's life, but it helps create a safer community by molding participants into contributing members of society.
“For the ones that do make it through, it creates a safer community for everyone,” he said. “They aren't out there reoffending. This has proved to be a very successful program.”
The graduation ceremony was held in Judge William Shaffer's courtroom. Shaffer presides over the drug treatment court.
The program is one of three court-related programs that promotes treatment over incarceration. Between 20 and 25 people participate in the program, which takes roughly two years to complete and covers any form of substance abuse, at any given time, with the goal of getting participants treatment and reducing recidivism rates.
The drug court team is composed of representatives from the district attorney's and public defender's offices, county Drug and Alcohol Program, a probation officer and a human services case manager from the Center for Community Resources.
