18 Pima County residents who graduated from the Superior Court's Drug Court or Pima County Attorney's Office Drug Treatment Alternative to Prison (DTAP) program celebrated sobriety on Wednesday evening. Family, friends, court staff, and program alumni will be there to honor the hard work these people have done.
Happening right now: 18 people in Pima County are celebrating sobriety. They all have different stories, but they are all now on a new path forward in life. @kgun9 #conqueringaddiction #congratulations pic.twitter.com/aKAIsgxF5l
— Max Darrow (@MaxDarrowTV) June 7, 2018
Over the last 11 years, more than 400 people have successfully graduated from the drug court program.
The DTAP program focuses on high-risk/high-need, non-violent repeat drug offenders, and provides residential drug treatment and wraparound recovery support services. Since 2010, they've celebrated more than 65 successful graduations.
One of the graduates this time around is Jill Hansman. For 25 years, she was addicted to drugs.
"So many years went by that I didn't know how to function without the drugs," she said. "Like I said, I never thought I would be here."
Heroin and Meth were in the drivers seat, she lost control of her life. But after an incident where she was arrested and ended up in drug court, that all began to change.
"I would have been back on the streets, doing drugs, if it weren't for the drug court program," Hansman said.
She knows that she'll spend the rest of her life conquering her addiction. But, if that means having a relationship with her daughter, and making those around her proud, it won't be a problem anymore.
"I made myself proud, and now I'm making everybody else proud," she said.
