Program helping offenders change their lives
One program is the last stop for a lot of offenders who say they want to turn their lives around. The Wood Court is a program for those with a history of substance abuse and is usually the last place to go before prison.
“It’s kind of a last chance for people who have already done other drug courts, exhausted other options in the community and just haven’t been able to succeed in staying out of the criminal justice system,” says Rex Thornley, coordinator for the program.
Members of the program undergo substance abuse treatment and are under strict supervision.
“They come here after they’re sentenced, they spend about six to eight weeks doing in-custody programming. First few weeks they can’t leave the building and after they pass a few markers with the treatment we let them go into the community and look for work or go back to a job that has waited for them,” says Thornley.
They’re required to make savings accounts, hold their job and make progress before being transitioned to a half-way house. The program is said to be life-changing for many.
“I was strung out on meth, alcohol, and marijuana and I lived in an abandoned house in the basement,” says Jenn Bell, a graduate of the program.
Bell says Wood Court is what helped her change her life.
“As I continued in the program, this program envelops everything needed to create a life worth living. It shows you how to get a job, how to keep a job. After you’re done with the halfway house they help you find an apartment and they’re very very serious about who you surround yourself with.”
And seeing the change is remarkable.
“It’s great because when we get them they’re pretty broken, they’ve pretty much given up and they see a little bit of hope and they don’t want to go to prison. So they come to a program like this and we give them some skills,” says Thornley.
“It feels wonderful to be a part of the community again and to be accepted and valued,” says Bell.
Bell has kept the job she got during the program. She was able to get the felony removed from her record and will be going to school in the fall to become a certified drug and alcohol counselor.
If you or someone you know would like to be a part of the program we have that link with the application here.
