Wednesday afternoon was gloomy outside as rain and storms threatened to soak Polk County, but inside the Polk County Courthouse in downtown Cedartown the atmosphere was one of sunshine and celebration.
This was because the Tallapoosa Circuit’s Drug Court got the opportunity for the 37th time since its inception to provide graduates with the chance to show that they have completed the program and remain recovered addicts who are ready to move on with a second chance in life. The October 6 ceremony was an opportunity to share what that meant to the participants.
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This latest edition of Talking Points on Polk Today features the drug court graduation in their own words.
Tallapoosa Circuit Superior Court Chief Judge Meng Lim heads the Drug Court Program locally for Polk and Haralson counties, and the three participants who came before Judge Lim along with friends, families and those who ensure the program participants are holding to their requirements had one thing in mind when they were asked to speak last week.
They wanted to thank those who loved and supported them for sticking by them through hard times, and to share that there is hope for those who are willing to take the step forward toward ending their dependency on drugs. A problem that Judge Lim admits has wide impacts on the community.
“I was sitting here and thinking about drug court, and this community,” he said. “Fortunately, we have a wonderful community for us to live in and work, for us to raise our children and have them educated, to have a place to rest in our bed and return to what we call our castles as night. This all that we do day in and day out. If you think about it, of the billions and billions of people in the world, we chose to be in this community and to make this our home. Unfortunately, our community has been devastated by drug addiction. And it has really hit home with us. It’s not just addiction, it’s all the other things that come with it.”
He pointed toward the family members impacted by drug addiction, and the community-wide problems of crime affiliated with drug addiction, “and all of this has been really difficult for our community.”
“But we have our American values and our work ethic. This community has fought against drug addiction for a long time,” Lim said.
A problem that hits home, even for community leaders.
Cedartown Commissioner Jessica Payton was the ceremony’s keynote speaker for the afternoon event, providing her own tale of how she was able to escape from hardships caused by her own family’s addiction to drugs and the losses she has suffered because of their inability to get clean. Despite all of that, she believes still that those who are recovering from addiction can find a new purpose in life. They are people like all of us.
“And they don’t see their value. That is a hard thing for someone who wants you… to express to you that you are so valuable and you are so loved,” Payton said. “That all the people around you see how incredible you are, and how wonderful you are, how giving you are, how much of a big heart you have, and it hurts us that you aren’t able to see that in yourself sometimes.”
She told graduates to look inward and understand all of the blessings they have in life and to see their self-worth, and their value to others as they move forward after being in the program.
This round of graduates – Justin Turner, Lisa Cole and Benji Landford, were asked one-by-one to come forward by Judge Lim and share their experiences of where they were in life before entering the program, and the progress they’ve made to get their lives back on track since going through the various phases until the October 6 graduation ceremony.
“It started off as friends getting high, everything was cool and we were having fun,” said Turner, who talked about his struggles with his addiction and how it impacted his relationships and nearly killed him. “It slowly but surely took everything.”
He was the victim of a gunshot wound to the abdomen before he was accepted into Drug Court, and after making a full physical recovery has since been hundreds of days clean and in addiction recovery.
“The judge gave me one more shot to try and do this and to do this right,” he said in thanks to his family. “Now my family can call on me and I’m there… The drug court it’s really changed everything in my life. Now I don’t think about getting high, I don’t want to get high.”
Cole told about how her addiction caused real strains with her family too. Her addiction to pills happened by going through pain management because of back problems, and afterward, she couldn’t shake the need for the pain medication’s high after not having a job and having to buy from the street. She took pills from her father, who she explained needed them just to get out of bed in the morning due to the pain caused by back issues. She lost everything – including her house and her job – to pills.
After being in the drug court program, she said her goal now is to get her life back and be able to be in a position to buy a home again.
“It really impacted my life. It messed up my relationship with my family,” she said. “I’m thankful to be here, I’m so thankful for my family who has stood by me through everything.”
She also thanked Judge Lim for encouraging her to complete the program, even after times when she felt doubt.
“There was at one point where I relapsed on Kratom back last year, and I struggled with that for a while,” Cole said. “When I did get off of it and I did get clean, I still felt like I was getting smacked down in the program. No matter what I did I felt like I was sinking.”
Despite times wanting to give up and be let out of the program, she said Judge Lim encouraged her to continue and to “not throw away all my hard work because the outcome would be worth it.”
“Thank you for that, I’m glad that I stuck with it because I really didn’t think I was going to. Once I got past that hump, everything was a lot better. The last couple of months has been really good. Been a lot different since Vann took over,” Cole said.
For Landford, the program also gave him the chance at a fresh start. He told about his use of drugs at a young age, and was a functioning addict. His life never got too bad, but then he got in trouble and now he was able to recover despite bumps on the road even during the program.
“The biggest thing that Drug Court has helped me with is really finding out who I am,” he explained. “I had to do that.”
He said that he has now set out to do everything he has wanted to do, and that his life is “really great now” with relationships recovered alongside being able to move ahead without drugs.
All three also had family members come to the front of the court to talk about how glad they were to have loved ones clean again and on the right path toward successful and happy lives.
The ceremonies concluded last Wednesday with Judge Lim wishing graduates well for their future, and with hopes that they have their lives on track.
Their commitment to the program and earning framed diplomas also came with a pair of rings for Turner and Landford, and a necklace is being made for Cole as presents from Judge Lim honoring their achievement.
Know someone with a drug problem, or looking to get into recovery yourself?
Here are resources you can utilize:
Second Baptist Church Celebrate Recovery
SAMHSA National Helpline: 1-800-662-4357
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