The Oakland County Bar Foundation has awarded the RESTORE Foundation a $20,000 grant.
In awarding the grant, Charles M. Moore, president of the OCBF, issued the following statement: “The Oakland County Bar Foundation acknowledges the hard work that the RESTORE Foundation has set out to accomplish since its launch in 2008. The assistance you provide to individuals and their families going through the drug treatment court is outstanding. The ability for individuals to stay in school, obtain/retain a job and become productive citizens is a valuable resource to our county.”
Retired Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Edward Sosnick, who now serves as president of the RESTORE Foundation, was understandably delighted by the grant
award. “The Oakland County Bar Foundation has been a wonderful supporter of the RESTORE Foundation since 2009,” Sosnick said. “We are truly grateful for their continued generosity, and the money will make a difference for all those working to turn their lives around in the drug court program.”
The Drug Treatment Court, which include programs for adults and juveniles in Oakland County, was created in 2001 by the Oakland County Circuit Court in response to the dramatic increase in the number of people jailed for drug-related offenses.
According to county officials, it costs approximately $35,000 to house a prison or jail inmate each year. In contrast, the Drug Treatment Court costs $5,000 annually per participant.
Since their inception, the drug courts have “achieved significant milestones in addition to substantial savings for taxpayers,” according to Sosnick. The Adult Treatment Court has admitted 604 participants, while the Juvenile Drug Court admitted 299 participants and served 506 family members.
Efforts are expanding by partnering with the Alliance on Coalitions for Healthy Families (ACHF). ACHF is a coalition of community partners providing prevention, recovery and supports services to every school district in Oakland County.
Young adults, particularly men and women age 18-25, have long been recognized as a population at high risk for alcohol and drug abuse. Despite these documented problems for young adults, relatively few preventive interventions have been developed for them, and those that have often fail to reach those individuals most at risk.
These are the kids who graduate from high school and leave home for college, work or just to find themselves. Indeed, it seems that not a day goes by without hearing of another death by binge-drinking, heroin overdose, or prescription drug abuse.
RESTORE and ACHF will create a coordinated community response to answer the needs of those kids and their worried parents. For example, we will work with universities to study their current practices, assess what works and what doesn’t and create best practices and solutions.
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