- Photo by John Meiu
The most recent graduates of the Oakland drug court program included (left to right) Rob Ryan, Terrie Auger, Michael Hinkle, and Michael Samulski. Also graduating on July 13, but not pictured, are John and Lisa.
By Tom Kirvan
Legal News
For six members of the Adult Treatment Court program in Oakland County, July 13 was a day of atonement and a time to reflect on odds overcome.
It also was cause for celebration and a chance to peer into the future with a renewed sense of hope and optimism.
The six — Terrie Auger, Michael Hinkle, Ryan Ragland, Michael Samulski, and John and Lisa, who preferred to be identified by just their first names — were honored as drug court graduates during a special ceremony in the Oakland County Board of Commissioners Auditorium.
The event, at which Circuit Court Judges Joan Young and Colleen O’Brien presided, also featured the presentation of four $1,000 scholarships by The RESTORE Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping supply funding for the adult and juvenile drug courts in Oakland County.
In addition, the ceremony marked the 100th graduate of the program since it was started a decade ago.
Auger was recognized as the 100th participant to complete the rigors of the program, which is designed to curb the use and abuse of drugs and alcohol, and to reduce recidivism in drug-related activity.
The treatment courts are widely viewed as viable and less costly alternatives to incarceration, and focus on treating drug users and transforming them into productive members of society.
But enrollment in the program does not necessarily guarantee success, as O’Brien pointed out when she asked the audience to observe a moment of silence for 14 former participants who have died over the past decade.
“It’s a very fragile thing,” O’Brien said of the journey to sobriety.
Four drug court graduates who can fully appreciate the judge’s message were among the honorees at the ceremony, each receiving $1,000 awards from the Joshua Charles Short Scholarship Fund from The RESTORE Foundation.
The scholarship recipients included Penny Brown, Andrew Lyons, Ashley Lyons, and Cory Gall.
The fund is a posthumous tribute to Short, who battled substance abuse issues before dying at age 20 several years ago.
His mother, Suzanne Okun, joined with Circuit Court Judge Wendy Potts, president of The RESTORE Foundation, in presenting the scholarship awards, reminding participants in the drug court program that “no one finds success without positive encouragement” and “that the road to success is never a smooth path.”
Brown will use her scholarship funds to pursue a paralegal degree at Baker College, while Ashley and Andrew Lyons, who were married in June, are students at Oakland Community College.
Gall, a graduate of the juvenile drug court program, is pursuing a master’s degree in biology from Old Dominion University and is a shining example of the “potential” that can be unleashed by participants, according to Potts.
For drug court graduate Lisa, whose drug of choice was crack cocaine when she was admitted to the program in May 2010, the journey to the July 13 ceremony was “long and challenging,” but was marked by “three words that stuck with me: I will succeed.”
Said she: “Willingness is the key to freedom.”
––––––––––––––––––––
Subscribe to the Legal News!
http://legalnews.com/Home/Subscription
Full access to public notices, articles, columns, archives, statistics, calendar and more
Day Pass Only $4.95!
One-County $80/year
Three-County & Full Pass also available
