First four graduates of Hilliard Recovery Court celebrate sobriety
The goal of 27-year-old Kody Allen is to keep doing “the thing.”
The thing is sobriety.
The 2011 Hilliard Darby High School graduate and west Columbus resident was one of four individuals recognized Aug. 11 as members of the first class of graduates from the Hilliard Recovery Court.
After a third arrest in August 2019 for driving while intoxicated, Allen was provided the opportunity to participate in the recovery court.
“It was a lot to do, (but) it then it got a little easier," Allen said. "Now my plan is just keep doing the thing. Don’t mess it up."
Family and friends of the graduates gathered at the Norwich Pavilion in Weaver Park to celebrate what is hoped to be a permanent new chapter in each of their lives.
“(Hilliard Recovery Court) has given me the ability to enjoy life beyond what I ever thought it could be,” said Tina Schreck, 33, a Hilliard wife and a mother to two children, ages 6 and 4.
Allen, Schreck, Ben Colgrove and Jamar Johnson completed the two-year program that Hilliard launched in 2019 as an alternative to incarceration.
The program helps people with substance-abuse problems by providing counseling on their way to an alcohol- and drug-free life.
It also can include reduced sentences and fines or, in some instances, the dismissal of charges, said Dawn Steele, Hilliard’s city prosecutor.
“This is an intensive recovery program, (and) I am proud of these graduates who made the decision to dedicate themselves to recovery and used the tools of the recovery court to make life-saving changes,” Steele said.
Eight others are in various stages of the two-year program, but there is capacity for at least 30 to enter, Steele said.
The early success of the program enabled Hilliard to apply for and receive a $500,000 federal grant from the U.S. Department of Justice that expanded the staff and capacity of the program to continue operation through 2024, Steele said.
The requirements of the recovery court include enrolling in a substance-abuse treatment provider outside of recovery court, attending the recovery-court programs and submitting to random drug tests, she said.
The staff of the Hilliard Recovery Court includes Steele; Stacey Pratt, the program’s co-coordinator and probation officer; David Weinhold, program co-coordinator; Katie Rings, public defender; and Scott VanDerKarr, a retired Franklin County Municipal Court judge who serves as magistrate.
VanDerKarr said the Hilliard Recovery Court is designed to help those living in the community it serves, making it easier to access it.
“The idea of the recovery court is to get someone stabilized over a two-year period of time,” he said.
During the two years, those enrolled in the program become acquainted with each other, the staff members of the program and VanDerKarr, who spoke about each of the four graduates before presenting diplomas Aug. 11.
The graduates also learn other valuable lessons.
“I learned a lot about myself,” Allen said.
When asked what he learned, he replied, “I’m boring,” but added that he is finding better ways to utilize newfound time.
“I’m pretty good with computers so I build PCs, and I guess I’m good at helping people move,” said Allen, who recently was promoted at his job at Micro Center. “I didn’t know so many people moved so often. I keep getting calls: 'Hey, can you come help me move, man.'"
The newfound time comes from both completing the program and avoiding past behavior.
“I never realized how much time I spent in bars,” said David Carraher, 29, a 2010 graduate of Hilliard Davidson High School who is one of the eight people currently participating in the recovery court. “But this is a great place to get sober."
Carraher said he had been arrested by the Hilliard Division of Police for driving while intoxicated in October 2019.
Schreck simply described the program as “magic.”
“Since I’m sober, people can trust me now," she said during the graduation ceremony. "My (family) can rely on me and don’t have to ask whether I’ll be drunk."
Schreck recounted her second OVI arrest at the age of 22 but said her court-ordered, three-day treatment did not help.
Almost a decade later, after Hilliard police officers arrived at her residence in 2019 to arrest her after a report of her erratic driving on the way home, Schreck said, she had reached her "breaking point."
"I needed help, and I couldn't do it alone," she said.
Johnson, 42, a Hilliard resident and a 1997 graduate of Davidson, said he experienced care and respect from the recovery-court staff members.
“They care about you and respect you – you’re not just a number,” said Johnson, who was the first person to be accepted into the program and the first to graduate in May.
The staff of the recovery court waited until four people had graduated to hold a ceremony.
Colegrove, 52, a Hilliard resident and the father of three children, ages 30, 19 and 16, said the program gave him “the tools to stay sober.”
“(The recovery court is) not an easy way out," Steele said. "It’s hard work but the best chance for success and a better life."
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