CHIPPEWA COUNTY, Mich., (WPBN/WGTU) – For the past four years, the Chippewa County Sobriety Court helped people struggling with substance abuse.
Now, the court is dissolving.
But that doesn’t mean the people will be left without options for mental health and addiction support.
SIMILAR STORY: Veterans Crisis Line added to 988 mental health hotline
Going into a sobriety court program can be an intense process. In Chippewa County, it was a more than year-long program with a range of requirements.
“So, they were seeing a counselor, some kind of substance abuse treatment provider they would attend self-help meetings, things like AA, NA and sometimes a 12-step meeting for sobriety,” said Kylie Thompson, a support coordinator.
“So, I think that they were working towards making positive changes for themselves and making better habits,” Thompson said.
And the court saw success in its goal of lowering repeat offenders.
“It gives them enough time and enough support to really become stable mentally and chances are if they complete the program, they’re never going to be involved with the court system again and that’s our hope,” said Julie Barber, a clinical social worker.
Duties of the sobriety court are going to be spread out into similar systems, such as the mental health court and the district court’s drug court.
EARLIER STORY: Mental health crisis center opens in Traverse City
It’s a change that may improve support by streamlining the process.
“There was just an overlap, the clients come in oftentimes with addiction disorders, primarily in the sobriety court program and usually with co-occurring mental health disorders,” Barber said.
“The only shift or difference there is that with the mental health court, they have a primary mental health diagnosis and a majority also have substance abuse programs,” Barber said.
The people who may have qualified for the sobriety court program in the future will still be given a chance to recover outside of a jail cell.
Barber says while the court made a real difference, there is support available across the county.
“I think it’s amazing,” Barber said. “I have seen so many people go from really struggling, down and out and not aware that there is so much help available in our communities.”
Thompson says they are looking forward to seeing community care continue in Chippewa County’s court system, as they continue to focus on restorative justice for people in need.
For more information on health services in Chippewa County, clink on this link.