On Oct. 21, the Washington State Association of Drug Court Professionals, at their 14th annual conference, gave out their first ever awards to people who had made outstanding contributions to drug courts. Of the four awards given out, my daughter received one.
I am so proud of her hard work over the years for people who don’t get a lot of help and who need it.
Also, the recognition of the good that drug courts do is well-earned. The drug court graduations I attended were inspiring to see: all the work the participants had done, as well as the families who come to support their participant. The people who get help are all ages. Right now, I understand 23 out of the 39 counties in Washington have drug courts.
Maybe people don’t realize how much work the drug court staff of legal people and chemical dependency counselors do. Through my daughter’s eyes, I have come to realize addiction is a disease; that the perpetrators of drug-related crimes are people. That the participants certainly are responsible for what they have done, and as certainly, deserve help to change their lives. Not all do, yet by far, the world is better off: crime is decreased, costs for so many services are reduced (police, ERs, CPS, court time), and families are reunited.
I wish there were programs like this for everyone who needed help.
My daughter, Mary Dessein, has worked at Catholic Community Services over 25 years and been with Drug Court of Snohomish County since it started over 12 years ago. I am indeed a proud mother.
Josette Wicker
Everett
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