MANSFIELD — Seven individuals celebrated graduation from the Mansfield Municipal Mental Health Court Wednesday at The Rehab Center at 270 Sterkel Blvd.
With wide smiles across their faces, the graduates walked across the front of the room to receive their certificates and shake hands with the professionals who lead the program.
“With the help of the staff, my life has improved … The staff and probation department were very easy to get along with and as long as you follow the structure of what they put out for you, it’s really not a hard program,” participant Paul Solon said. “And they have the best intentions for you as well.”
“Ditto. Ditto. Ditto,” another participant chimed in.
The graduates included Swawna Puckett, Clarence Summers, Dillon Flannery, Brittany Fisher, Paul Solon, Matt Schmitt and one other who asked to remain anonymous.
They were among approximately 20 people to complete the Mansfield Municipal Mental Health Court program since its last graduation in summer 2018.
Prior to the ceremony, Director Of Operations at Catalyst Life Services Erin Schaefer placed yellow sticky notes on one fifth of the chairs, and then asked those with sticky notes to stand. Then, she asked eight of those standing to again take their seat.
Eight of ten people diagnosed with a mental health disorder will improve with treatment, she continued.
“When we engage people in treatment, they recover, they get better, their lives improve and the people around them can recognize also the improvements they’ve made,” Schaefer said. “That’s why we work so hard to get people engaged in treatment, because we see the changes and we see the positive impact that it has.”
In a keynote address to the audience, Judge Frank Ardis Jr. explained that recovery is his desire for each of the graduates.
“The hard part begins now … but you heard the statistics. You can do it. It’s been done, and we have confidence in you,” he said.
Ardis and Judge Jerry Ault encouraged the graduates to stay in contact with their probation officers and to reach out with concerns.
“We’re there for you,” Ault said.
The Mansfield Municipal Mental Health Court was formed and began operating on Jan. 1, 2004 and was the third of its kind in Ohio. It was developed to coordinate court supervision services with treatment providers to divert misdemeanor offenders with severe mental illness from repeated encounters with law enforcement and the jails by increasing treatment compliance and access to services. Included among those services is medication, group and individual counseling, housing, case management, crisis intervention, education and employment.
The Mansfield Municipal Mental Health Court is a voluntary Specialty Court Docket program providing intense supervision of offenders that involves home visits, curfew checks, drug and alcohol testing and increased communication with the treatment providers.
The length of a participant’s involvement in the program is determined by individual needs and progress as well as community safety needs. The project was implemented without additional funding from the residents of Mansfield and Richland County.
For more information, contact Kimberley Romoser, Mental Health Court Probation Officer for the Mansfield Municipal Court at 419-755-9603.
