MANSFIELD, Ohio — After his addiction nearly killed him, George Baldridge said enough was enough and was determined to get clean.
In April of last year, he entered the Richland County Substance Abuse Treatment Court (Drug Court)–a program that helps non-violent, low-level drug offenders overcome their addiction through intensive supervision and proven treatment programs.
Though he struggled at first while on his road to recovery, he successfully completed the program and was recognized during a ceremony held at the Life Celebration Center on Thursday. Fellow Drug Court graduates included Alexis M., Christina S. and David O. (Drug court graduates’ last names withheld.)
Balridge credited this milestone to God, noting, “With [God’s] help, He can change our heart and change our desires, and that’s what He did for me.”
Now that he’s graduated from the program, he said, “I’m excited and ready to start my life, like Judge [James] Henson was talking about.”
Earlier, former Richland County Common Pleas Court Judge James Henson encouraged the graduates saying, “Here you are. Your day–the first day of the rest of your life.
“Now, because of the hard work you have put into your time in Drug Court, you are better prepared to determine the paths your lives will take in the next year and during every year for the rest of your life on earth.”
Henson presented the graduates with a challenge, saying, “I challenge you to share what you now know and live your lives in such a way that others will profit by your example. I am convinced that the only way to solve the ‘drug problem’ in the long run is to educate people so that young impressionable people refuse to start to using illegal drugs in the first place.”
Common Pleas Court Judge Brent Robinson, who took over the program when Henson retired, praised Henson for the hard work and dedication he put into Drug Court over the years. “One of the reasons why Drug Court has been so successful is Judge Henson was extremely passionate about program. He’s passed that passion onto me,” he said.
Henson helped start the program in 1997. “It was 20 years ago this month that we here in Richland County caught the vision of the possibility and, indeed, the necessity of creating a Drug Court. That was 1995, and then a few years later we held our first session, and then in May of 1998, we had our first graduation,” he said.
He said that he had been judge for over 15 years when Drug Court began, noting, “For too many years, we had been involved in what would have to be called a form of insanity–doing the same thing over and over and over again, and somehow miraculously expecting a better and different result. Well, it didn’t happen. We sent young, addicted people to prison and a few months or years later they returned hardened criminals and still addicted.
“What we’re seeing here today is a result of a new way of thinking…Don’t take me wrong. We didn’t invent this wheel. We owe a debt of gratitude to pioneers in the field of Drug Court who developed the process and we were able to adopt it,” Robinson said.
Drug Court has a 70 percent graduation rate.
What helps make Drug Court successful, Robinson said, is the collaboration among local court systems, law enforcement agencies, probation and parole officers, community treatment programs, religious-based programs, educational programs and medical professionals who, together, help those who are suffering from an addiction become productive members of the community.
At the 16th annual Drug Court graduation, the graduates were given a plaque and certificate of achievement. Further, “One of the things about Drug Court that’s nice is if you complete it, your case is dismissed. It doesn’t hinder your ability to become employed,” Robinson said.
Graduates were also given some advice from Kathy Cleghorn, mother of the late Reuben Cleghorn.
“When you leave here today, don’t go back to your old ways,” she said. “Walk straight, people, don’t walk crooked.”
Kathy Cleghorn’s son passed away on Jan. 16 from a drug overdose.
“It is so hard to walk into a hospital and see your son laying on a gurney. It makes you die, too. We’re all torn up because he did what we didn’t want him to do, Cleghorn said.
“If you go to rehab, make sure you’re serious about rehab,” she said adding, “You have to be the one to make the change.”
“Now, because of the hard work you have put into your time in Drug Court, you are better prepared to determine the paths your lives will take in the next year and during every year for the rest of your life on earth,” Judge Henson said.
