Going to court can be associated with unhappy outcomes, but for Corrina Lawhon-Wolfe, a recent court appointment was a cause for celebration.

Lawhon-Wolfe acknowledges that she is an addict with a long history of relapses. But rather than winding up behind bars, she credited the Jefferson County Mental Health Therapeutic Court with teaching her accountability.

Instead of going through the court system, District Court Probation Administrator Tracie Bick explained that people who agree to go through Mental Health Court must proceed through four successive phases of treatment, lasting an average of 24 months.

Lawhon-Wolfe was the first Mental Health Court graduate for 2017, following 11 who graduated in 2016, the first year there were graduates of therapeutic court.

LIFE OR DEATH PROCESS

“I had to look deep inside my soul to see what I wanted,” said Lawhon-Wolfe, during her Feb. 28 graduation ceremony. “Rather than continuing to fight the process, I finally admitted what my issues were. When you fight the process, you’re just fighting yourself. If you’re just sliding along, you’re sliding into death.”

Lawhon-Wolfe was congratulated by District Court Judge Jill Landes, who conducted the graduation ceremony in the midst of a regular Tuesday meeting of Mental Health Court, which is the more commonly used name for the therapeutic court.

Landes was jovial with not only Lawhon-Wolfe but also with those still going through the program, applauding their steps toward recovery and expressing her exasperation at their occasional setbacks through gentle humor and firm encouragement to do better.

As Lawhon-Wolfe outlined the consequences of both her addictions, to alcohol and methamphetamine, and her recovery, the affection that the judge and the defendants expressed for one another was underscored by the literal life-or-death stakes of the process.

“This has been the first time I’ve succeeded at something,” Lawhon-Wolfe said. “I did this because I wanted a new life. Respecting the process has made my life better. If I can do this, all of you can definitely do it.”

Lawhon-Wolfe extended her thanks to Landes, to her addiction recovery sponsors, to her mother and her husband, and even to Jefferson County Sheriff’s Deputy Brandon Przygocki for pulling her over and arresting her for driving under the influence.

“Brandon, you saved my life that night,” Lawhon-Wolfe said. “It felt good to finally come clean.”

Przygocki, in turn, praised Lawhon-Wolfe for the “sterling example” she’s set for others, while her husband, Gary, was initially too overcome with emotion to speak.

“When you completed your treatment, I lost my drinking buddy, but I gained a wife,” Gary said. “I love you. This is a new beginning for us, to be a family without clouded minds.”

THE PROCESS

Jefferson County’s Mental Health Court started in 2013, a decade after the county began its Drug Court in 2003.

Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney Michael Haas credited Clallam County Superior Court Judge Ken Williams, now retired, with pioneering Washington state drug courts.

“The concept as adopted here was borrowed largely from Clallam County,” Haas said.

Haas also credited Miriam Norman, then deputy prosecuting attorney for Jefferson County, with taking a lead role in developing its Mental Health Court, along with Landes and her administrator, Tracie Bick.

Haas noted that the county conducts two other therapeutic courts: Topside, which offers “a full panoply of services for juvenile offenders,” and Family Therapeutic Court, which furnishes “a wide range of services to families in distress” with the involvement of Child Protective Services.

“It should go without saying that these specialized therapeutic courts are evidence-based, provide an excellent service to the community by decreasing recidivism and restoring the lives of people in crisis due to substance abuse and/or mental issues,” Haas said. “Attending Drug Court is the best part of my week, because we get to see signs of hope, that lives are being changed for the better.”

In Haas’ experience, therapeutic courts are successful in getting people to stop committing crimes, and either stop or significantly reduce their use of drugs.

“They also have access to mental health treatment, and begin to see physicians and dentists regularly for their basic health needs,” Haas said.

Haas went on to cite the benefits of offenders engaging in supportive community training, such as the Changing Patterns classes sponsored by the Dove House Advocacy Services, and being required to further their education by obtaining a GED or high school diploma, available to older students without actually attending high school.

“They’re given the opportunity to work on developing a career or other means of obtaining their financial independence from community and state public assistance programs,” Haas said. “They’re significantly more likely to continue their crime-free ways after graduating from therapeutic court.”

Although Haas conceded he didn’t have the numbers on hand to confirm it, his impression has been that even those who “fall off the wagon” after therapeutic court graduation tend to be more likely to seek out continuing treatment, perhaps because “they’ve had a taste of freedom” from addiction and/or mental health issues.

“I understand why my predecessors all loved the therapeutic courts,” Haas said. “There is a beauty that defies description when you witness someone make the change in attitude that will take them from a living hell to a new life, where they are constantly amazed by how much better life is. When everyone in the courtroom chokes up, after a parent expresses how grateful they are to have their child back, it doesn’t get any better than that.”