6 graduate from New Way to Recovery Drug Court Docket of the Highland County Common Pleas Court
Pictured (l-r) are Judge Rocky Coss, Probation Officer Jon Parr, Program Director Tonya Sturgill (in front of Parr), John Richards, Karissa Purcell, Chad Price, John Barger, Derek Myers, Treatment Coordinator Kim Davis and Olivia Hayslip. (Submitted photos)
Six individuals were celebrated for successfully completing the New Way to Recovery Drug Court Docket of the Highland County Common Pleas Court during the program’s fifth graduation ceremony Sunday, Jan. 21.
The Jan. 21, 2024 graduates include John Barger, Olivia Hayslip, Derek Myers, Chad Price, Karissa Purcell and John Richards.
According to Highland County Probation Director of Programming & Clinical Services and Drug Court Coordinator Tonya Sturgill, there have been 90 admissions and only 19 unsuccessful terminations since the drug court began, while 40 individuals have successfully completed the program thus far.
The first drug court session was held in August 2019, and the program includes four phases that take a minimum of 18 months to complete.
The latest graduating class “are the definition of persistence, perseverance and success,” Sturgill said. Some of this month’s graduates had a history with the Highland County Probation Department dating many years, or were on their “last chance,” she said. However, she highlighted the progress that all six have made in the past few years as participants in the drug court program.
According to Sturgill, the Probation Department first started working with Price in 2004. Now, 20 years later, she said he has “decided to dig deep and truly embrace a sober life.
“His transformation has been amazing, and we couldn’t be more proud of how far he has come and everything that he has accomplished,” Sturgill said.
Barger and Richards are both now working in the treatment field, and Myers is “actively involved” in supporting others through The Recovery Council while working part-time. Hayslip has also found a job and a place to live, and Purcell is working and “most importantly, became the mother that her kids deserve.”
“This group of six has made some amazing accomplishments during their time in our program,” Sturgill said. “I have no doubt they all have the strength, motivation and tools necessary to continue not only their sobriety, but to achieve anything more they set out to do.”
As previously reported, according to Highland County Common Pleas Court Judge Rocky Coss, “the mission of the drug court docket is to enhance public safety by preventing recidivism; assisting participants in taking responsibility for their behavioral health issues by turning them from a path of self-destruction to a path of recovery; creating a continuum of approved treatment and rehabilitation services through community programs that meet the needs of participants; and using evidence-based practices in intervention and treatment of substance abuse and other co-occurring mental disorders or medical issues that offenders may have.”
Sturgill thanked Coss for his continued efforts to ensure the program’s success.
“Judge Coss always gives great advice and insight from the bench,” Sturgill said. “However, one of my personal favorite sayings that he has instilled into our participants many times over the years is: ‘Recovery is a journey, not a destination.’”
Also thanked were Jon Parr and Kim Davis of the Probation Department, as well as the treatment providers who assist with the program, including: The Recovery Council (FRS); The Counseling Center; Scioto Paint Valley Mental Health; PATH Behavioral Healthcare; STAR Community Justice Center; Another Chance Ministries; REACH For Tomorrow; and Clean Acres.