MANSFIELD — Six graduates of the Mansfield Municipal Mental Health Court gathered with friends and family on Wednesday afternoon to celebrate their completion of the probation program.
The first Mental Health Court since COVID-19, triggered applause and cheers could throughout the room as the graduates received their certificates.
The Mansfield Municipal Mental Health Court began in 2004 as a way to pair court supervision services with treatment for misdemeanor offenders who suffer from severe mental illness. A variety of services are offered to participants – medication, group and individual counseling, housing and employment just to name a few.
There are currently 23 participants in the program. According to Danielle Musgrove, probation officer for the program, treatment can last six months to a year depending on an individual’s compliance.
In a keynote address to the audience, Judge Frank Ardis Jr. encouraged the graduates to keep up their work outside of the structure and supervision of the program.
“Your journey is starting today,” Ardis said. “The hard part begins today.”
While he acknowledged the difficult transition out of the program, Ardis expressed full faith in the participants’ abilities to continue to work on themselves and their futures.
On behalf of Judge Jerry Ault, Magistrate John McCollister relayed his congratulations to the participants and celebrated their dedication to completing the program.
“I have the benefit and the opportunity of seeing you when you first come into the court and the arraignment process, and I have the benefit of watching you grow through the program,” McCollister said. “Life is not easy, so I would encourage you to keep up with the resources you’ve been put in contact with.”
Compared to the 11 graduates in 2021, Ardis said that the smaller group this year allowed the staff to devote more attention and build stronger bonds with the class.
While only on the job for six months, Musgrove said the defendants have already become like a family to her.
Although the day was bittersweet for Musgrove, she said she could not be more excited for the participants and their families.
“[I] want [the participants] to succeed at their core, so watching them do so is just very rewarding,” Musgrove said. “It makes me a little sad because I’ll miss seeing their faces, but I’m so, so proud of them. They’ve come so far and I’m really happy for them.”
