Drug Court Reports Success Amid Pandemic

When shelter in-place orders were given in Washington several weeks ago, Lewis County Drug Court Community Outreach Worker Jan Self recalled one of her biggest worries — losing people in recovery to COVID-19.

Not just to the physical effects of the virus, but also the mental stressors of social distancing that could lead to relapse.

“My concern was how isolation was going to affect our participants,” Self said. “The number one factor, and they learn this in treatment and their groups, is that isolation is the worst thing for a person in recovery.”

Several weeks later, with the stay-at-home orders extended at least another few weeks, Self said she has been pleasantly surprised by how the Drug Court community has rallied. They’re finding new ways to connect, alumni are stepping up to lead the way, people are still graduating from the program and the largest percentage have stayed sober.

“They are finding an inner strength they didn’t know they had because they never had to use it before,” said Self, who said her favorite part of her job is the inspiring stories of the people in Drug Court who continue to persevere. “They are bolstering each other up and the love and care and concern they’re showing for each other is a new dimension of a strength they didn’t know they had.”

Now in its 16th year as a program, Lewis County Drug Court just celebrated its 200th graduate in December 2019. It is a program that prides itself on having a recidivism, or reoffense, rate of only 11 percent. Jessica Gladue of Centralia, who will move to the last phase of the drug court program this week after two and a half years in the program, said Drug Court has helped her move from someone who had no hope to someone who wants to share her story to encourage others. She said in the midst of the public health crisis of COVID-19, she saw the commitment of those in charge of Drug Court to help people stay clean.

“Drug Court didn’t drop the ball. They kept going and kept us together,” Gladue said. “It’s so important to have that support and know there’s hope.”

Gladue said walking the path of recovery has actually made her uniquely qualified to weather stress and isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic. For instance, she said recovering addicts learn to look for gratitude in their lives. Gladue chooses to focus on all of the time she gets to enjoy with her bubbly, bright 3-year-old daughter, Braelyn. When she began her journey in Lewis County Drug Court, she said she never even thought her life could see any kind of happiness. Today, she works for LOVE, Inc. and loves to share the joy she has found with others. She said some of the same words that helped her through addiction can now help people navigate COVID-19.

“One of the first things we learn in recovery is acceptance and ‘this, too, shall pass’ and we’ll get through this,” Gladue said. “Some of my friends get scared and I tell them that. You have to relinquish control and trust that we’ll get through this and we’ll be OK.”

The beginning of the changes brought on by COVID-19 started on March 16 when Drug Court had to cancel the first session that included a graduation.That date was canceled and the woman became the first to graduate via the online chat application Zoom. Drug Court Manager Stephanie Miller said the fairly low-key virtual graduations will be followed by a larger celebration when group gatherings are possible again. Miller said the emphasis was making sure these people’s efforts were recognized and they had their special day, even though it was different than the usual fanfare of an in-person Drug Court graduation. But there have also been a few benefits to the new format.

“We have had three more people graduate and one of the people asked to have his daughter, who lives at least five hours away, join in,” Miller said. “She probably wouldn’t have been able to be there otherwise. It has opened different doors that weren’t open before.”

There are currently 47 Drug Court participants and 16 Family Dependency Court participants in Lewis County. Though Washington state remains under shelter-in-place orders for at least a few more weeks, participants in these programs are still required to attend treatment. Miller said some choose to meet in person, when feasible, and some meet online with their providers. All support groups have also been moved online, as have court appearances.

“I think some of it can be useful in the future but there’s nothing quite like human interaction,” Miller said.

As much as possible, Drug Court has continued those human interactions. Gladue said Drug Court Compliance Officer Kevin Dickey and Miller have made sure that those who have stayed sober have been given their certificates and medals as if the group is still meeting. And she praised Judge Andrew Toynbee for staying in contact as well. For the short time that Drug Court appearances were not able to happen in person because of Washington’s shelter-in-place orders, Toynbee checked in with participants virtually to make sure they were staying in compliance. 

“It’s not an I program, it’s a we program,” Gladue said. “You just can’t do it without the support.”

Self said that under normal circumstances, a typical day at her office might include several people dropping in to check in with her. In this new normal, Drug Court employees have had to find new ways of staying in touch when those drop ins cannot happen in person right now. 

“Realistically, you can’t talk to every single one of them on the phone every day,” Self said. 

One of the new ways of communicating Self hit on was using the program’s social media presence. She administers a “Daily Connect” on the Drug Court Facebook page, which offers words of encouragement and inspiration. She said she has been pleasantly surprised by how many people have participated in the daily thoughts. 

Miller said the 10 to 20 active members of the Drug Court Alumni group have also stepped up to help during the crisis by stepping up their check-ins with current participants. The group’s third annual 5K run was canceled by COVID-19 and will hopefully be rescheduled to September. In the meantime, they are selling yard signs to mark May as National Drug Court Month, the proceeds from which will benefit the Drug Court Foundation. 

“I’m proud of our participants and our employees for the work they’ve done,” Miller said