SHELBY — The second graduating class of Shelby Municipal Court’s drug court officially earned their certificates of completion on Monday afternoon.
The two graduates left the Shelby Justice Center on Monday with a sense of accomplishment and words of encouragement from counselors, mentors, and Judge Sheree Studer.
“The fact that you are here today at your graduation shows the strength and courage that you have shown to dedicate yourselves to this transformation of your lives,” Studer said. “I wish you the best as you continue down the road of sobriety, and you should be proud to have completed this program.”
Shelby launched a drug court in November 2016, with the first five graduates completing the program in November 2017. Probation Officer Mindy Dumbeck helped to spearhead the introduction of a drug court back in 2015 after seeing an increase in drug use and drug-related crimes in Shelby, as well as the success of drug court in nearby communities.
“We knew we wanted to start out small and build on it so we could work out the kinks and not set anybody up for more failure,” Dumbeck said. “If you don’t want to change your whole lifestyle, then you’re not wanting to be part of this program.”
Shelby’s drug court program is a 12- to 18-month program that includes monthly meetings with counselors from Family Life Counseling and regular progress updates with Judge Studer. After being elected to the position in November 2017, this is Studer’s first graduating class with drug court.
“It was fulfilling to see the graduation because every time we would come in, we would only have good things to say to them, because they were putting forth the effort,” Studer said.
Studer noted the program participants had many hoops to jump through throughout the entire process. Each hoop, however, kept the participants on a path to success.
“I think part of their success is they took advantage of every opportunity, whether it was super effective or not they still reached out and did everything they could to better themselves,” said Jill von Haase, an alcohol and drug counselor with Family Life Counseling.
According to Brother Dan Gates, a volunteer chaplain with Shelby’s Fire and Police Departments, the three tenants that make drug court so compelling and successful are heightened supervision, a connection with resources, and a high degree of accountability.
“The whole justice center here in Shelby came to the conclusion we can’t arrest our way out of the problem,” Gates said. “Jails aren’t big enough and we don’t have enough law enforcement officers. We had to shift from a penalty to a helping mode.”
Gates reminded the graduates on Tuesday that a host of resources are still available to them should they need to reach out for help as they continue their road to recovery.
“This is not the finish line, this is the starting point of a brand-new life,” Gates said. “Sometimes when we feel like we’ve crossed a finish line we tend to let down a little bit and become subconsciously apathetic or complacent.
“Don’t look at this as the completion, but as the beginning of a wonderful new life. The best is yet to come.”
