SHEPHERDSVILLE, Ky (WDRB) - Tears of joy flowed in a Bullitt County courtroom as a half dozen people completed something they had dreamed of: drug rehabilitation.
In the voluntary program, non-violent drug offenders can avoid jail if they enter the treatment process, which takes 12 to 24 months to complete.
Amanda Carmen, who has battled a meth addition for most of her adult life, said she has to fight her addiction every morning.
“I can’t never let it ever trick me and think that I have it under control,” she said. “I begged and begged Judge Burress to let me do this program because I didn’t just want to get out of jail I wanted to change my life and to have something for myself.”
Bullitt County Circuit Court Judge Rodney Burress told WDRB News that the program is only for those who can fully commit to recovery.
“You have to go to three self-help meetings a week, you’ll have two group sessions a week, one individual counseling session a week, you have to come see the judge once a week,” Burress said.
Participants also are subjected to random weekly drug tests.
Monday night, with her lawyer by her side, Carmen completed the program. Members of her family sat in the packed courtroom and wiped away tears.
Each of the seven grads received a Phoenix pin, symbolizing rising from the ashes and becoming stronger than ever before.
The success rate of the Bullitt county program is 50%, but it’s a fourth of the cost of the state having to house an inmate. The goal is to have the graduate back into society with a stable job and life as soon as possible.
Carmen acknowledged she will struggle with addiction for the rest of her life — a life she worried at one point would be cut short. She now runs her own AA meetings to help others and is a recovery sponsor.
“I am 1000% glad that I chose to do it and that I was a part of this program, and it will forever have changed me and touched my life,” Carmen said.
The Bullitt County Drug Court holds graduations every four months and has worked with hundreds of people since it began in 2008.
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