‘Truly grateful’: Lycoming County treatment court celebrates 25 years of helping people reclaim their lives
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It was a day to celebrate 25 years of the treatment court operating in Lycoming County, but it was also a time to witness the lives that have been changed because of it.
"This is truly a celebration of everything that everybody has contributed over the last 25 years to make this the fifth oldest drug court in the state," said Lycoming County President Judge Nancy Butts, who was instrumental in bringing treatment court to the county. About 1,000 people have gone through the program since it began.
The pavilion at the South Williamsport Park Complex was packed with standing room only as friends and family members of the newest graduates of the program were honored. They came one by one to receive their certificates of completion from Butts. Some had completed all the phases of the program while others were graduating to the next phase. Participants in the After Care program were also acknowledged.
"I'm a little emotional today because I never honestly thought I'd see this day," said Nicole Berry, one of the graduates.
"First off, I want to say how truly grateful I am for this program. Treatment court played a huge part in helping me find myself again. The structure this program offers is exactly what I needed to get my life back on track. When I first got placed on treatment court, I was angry, stubborn and honestly, I was really just ready to give up. It took me a really long time to get out of phase one. But honestly, when I finally made the choice to surrender and make a better life for myself, I realized how much help there is, if you really want it," Berry said.
After thanking the people who had helped her in her journey to recovery, Berry said, "If you want to change, help is there."
"If you would have known me a year ago…You know, a lot of people didn't think I was going to make it. I didn't care. I'm so glad something clicked because there is seriously so much help out there if you want. All you have to do is just put one foot in front of the other and there's people there to help you," she said.
One of the people who helped Berry was Michelle Huey, from the West Branch Drug and Alcohol Abuse Commission.
"Nicole is a good example of not ever counting someone out," Huey said.
Huey shared that Berry was one of her first clients when she started at West Branch.
"I didn't know what to expect out of her, but with this job you can only help someone as much as they want," Huey said.
A breakthrough in Berry's treatment came about three weeks into it when she told Huey, "I think I'm done."
"She has done everything that I've asked her to do and not only that, when she asks me for advice, she takes it. You know, she's obtained a job, she's obtained housing, she's obtained a couple cars. That was a process," Huey said.
"I'll tell you what, when she called me and said that Olivia (her daughter) had reached out to her, you would think that this woman had won the lottery. Because that's what the most important thing is -- gaining the respect of your family and their trust, or admitting that you've made mistakes and that you have to earn that trust. She didn't want to hear that so much, but she came to terms with that. She's done amazing things," Huey said.
When the drug treatment court began in the 1980s, it was not a popular thing to talk about -- treatment as opposed to incarceration, according to Commissioner Rick Mirabito, who also spoke at the event.
"Judge Butts and all the people in this room who stepped up and said, you know we believe that people are not defined by something that happens at some point in their life. I think that it's a lesson that you'll have helped me learn...you have taught us something about the hope and the faith that we have in people can make a real big difference," Mirabito said.
Butts praised District Attorney Ryan Gardner for the support his office has given the program.
Gardner shared how he had witnessed firsthand the sadness of having a family member lose their life to addiction and how that had shaped his tenure as DA.
"That week was the defining moment for me when I knew that addiction is real because I appreciated the ripple effect of how someone's abuse of a narcotic can affect family and friends," Gardner said.
He said that his office had worked to expand the criteria used for people to be able to go into the treatment court program. They also worked on ways to motivate people to take advantage of the program.
"As an incentive, we may fashion a plea deal, if it's appropriate given the facts and circumstances, that if you complete the treatment court program, that felony is going to go away. We'll hold it in abeyance. If you successfully complete (the program), as our acknowledgement of your hard work, that felony can go away. You're not going to be saddled with that for the rest of your life," Gardner said.
Butts and two employees of West Branch Drug and Alcohol Abuse Commission, Sarah Guistina and Katie Hugo, were honored at the graduation for their work with the treatment court.
In addition to West Branch and Alcohol, Genesis House, Crossroads Counseling and the Adult Probation were praised for their work with the people in the program. State Rep. Jamie Flick, R-South Williamsport, also read a proclamation for the work the treatment court has done.
Graduates from past years had been invited. Many took time to share how taking advantage of the opportunity the treatment court gave them to turn their lives around had impacted them moving forward.