'This was my shot'
Aug. 18—Four-month-old Korie quietly rested in the arms of her mother Wednesday afternoon at Rozzi's Catering Continental Ballroom, completely unaware of the events going on around her.
Her mother Stephanie Hollingsworth bounced Korie up and down and fixed the infant's bow, smiling as she looked down at her daughter.
It's something the Kokomo resident said she didn't think was even possible around two years ago: being the type of person worthy of motherhood.
But that was before Hollingsworth was accepted into the Howard County Drug Court.
And Wednesday, surrounded by family, friends and other community members, the 30-year-old officially graduated from it.
According to Howard County Superior Court I Judge Bill Menges — who presides over the program that has around 50 participants at any given time — the drug court began around 2007 with the emphasis on looking at high-risk and high-need women of childbearing years, due in part to the number of children officials saw who were born addicted to drugs.
But the focus changed in recent years with the uptick in the use of illegal substances such as methamphetamine and heroin, Menges told the Tribune.
"We were not having the number of babies born addicted," Menges said, "but we were just having people die. And you can't fix somebody once they're dead. You can't treat them then. So we continued, but with the focus being more on general high-risk and high-need addicts overall."
People like Hollingsworth, who was accepted into the Howard County Drug Court in June 2020 after being arrested for possession of a narcotic drug.
"I struggled with addiction for six years," Hollingsworth told the Tribune before Wednesday's graduation ceremony. "I kept getting in trouble with the law because I couldn't stay clean."
In other words, Hollingsworth noted, she was hovering right around rock bottom and couldn't figure out how to get out.
"This was my shot to change my life around," she said, referring to the drug court program. "It's the hardest thing I've ever done, but it's the best thing that ever happened to me. This program has humbled me and given me a complete structure in my life. ... It's really just retrained my brain."
Hollingsworth's loved ones have personally seen her transformation too.
"Basically, what they did for her is what I couldn't do for her," Jeanette Hollingsworth, Stephanie's mother, said. "I love drug court. It's very beneficial for anybody with addiction, especially if they can get through it. They (the court) paid attention to everything she did, everything she spent. She had to check in all the time, all of those things I couldn't get from her. I'm very appreciative of all that they've done for her."
Stephanie's friend, Jessica Eimen, agreed with Jeanette's sentiments.
And for Eimen, who has been sober herself now for over three years, Wednesday's graduation ceremony — along with her own journey — is proof that the battle with addiction can be won.
"It's been kind of crazy because we were in active addiction together," Eimen said. "... So I knew her (Stephanie) before addiction, which is what you see today, the bubbly and personable personality. That was how she was then. But then when she was on drugs, you could just see that soul sucked out of her. She wasn't the same person she is today.
"So, I think the number one thing that the drug court does for someone is holds them accountable," Eimen added. "When you can't hold yourself accountable, but you have someone behind you saying, 'No, you can do the right thing,' that forces you to do the right thing. And then it just becomes second nature."
And according to Menges, that sense of personal accountability is one of the most important aspects of the program.
"The whole 'second chance approach' isn't what we're actually doing," he said. "That's what everybody wants is, 'Please, give me a second chance.' But what we're going to do is apply proven behavior modification techniques and actually change you, the way you think and the way you behave. We're going to give you the tools to live a sober life."
And you can't "fake it until you make it" either, Menges admitted.
You have to follow the rules, like attending treatment for substance abuse, or you simply go back to jail.
"I think a large number of people come in not wanting to put in the work," Menges said, "so they just pretend. But we make them put in the work, and once they start putting in that work, they begin to see what it takes to live a sober life.
"And I'm extremely proud of all of our graduates, along with those currently still in the program," he added. "They work hard, and you can see the change. All of a sudden, they're not just doing it because they're scared of me or scared of going back to jail. They're doing it because it's what they want to do, and they recognize that living life in recovery is a whole lot better than living one in addiction."
