DRUG COURTS WORK!
Positive growth.
My name is Daniel “DJ” Rivera and I graduated from the Snohomish County Adult Drug Court program in March of 2008. My clean and sober date is March 6, 2007, which is a day that transformed my life into something more spectacular than I could have ever dreamed. I am going to tell you a little bit about what it was like, what happened, and what it is like now.
My life prior to entering Drug Court was filled with daily use of alcohol and drugs. My use started out with alcohol and then cannabis around 14 years old. It was very obvious that I did not drink like my friends I was partying with as I would consume as much alcohol as I could in a short time and black out. My father passed away from a heart attack a couple of days after my 17th birthday. I was present when he died and performed CPR on him until medics could arrive. This event would serve as a catalyst that would take me down a path that I could not get out of on my own. I was introduced to methamphetamine soon after and was immediately hooked. I was homeless off and on for the next ten years and would often stay with “friends” until those bridges were burned.
During this time, I met a woman that I entered a relationship with, and we would use together. She eventually got pregnant, and we had a son together. I remember telling her and my unborn son that I was going to get sober. My son was born, and I remember crying uncontrollably. There were tears of happiness and tears of sadness because I knew I was not going to be able to stop.
My addiction soon got worse. My son was about six months old when I was arrested for a possession of a controlled substance charge on December 28, 2005. It would be over a year before I would enter Drug Court. During this year, my addiction got even worse, and I was trying to hide my use from everyone around me.
On March 6, 2007, I entered Drug Court. This is also the date that I claim as my clean and sober date because the first UA I took was from that day which came back clean. I had never kept track of my clean time before since I could never get more than a couple of days. I entered treatment shortly after contracting in and began attending 12-step meetings immediately. It was through treatment, MRT, and 12-step meetings that I was able to achieve sobriety and more. I began changing everything about myself and going through the 12-steps with my sponsor and eventually working through the steps in MRT. I graduated from Drug Court on March 9, 2008, but my story does not stop there.
I would later return to school and enter the substance use disorder program at Edmonds Community College and would graduate in 2012. I interviewed at different agencies before I chose a site for my internship. Little was I to know that I would embark on an amazing journey with this agency. Six months after starting an unpaid internship, I was hired on full time. One benefit of working for this agency is they were one of the two contractors for Snohomish County Drug Court. I eventually was made a backup for the treatment liaison position and then became the treatment liaison for the Snohomish County Juvenile Drug Court program. I became a clinical supervisor in August of 2016 and would have to step out of my role as the treatment liaison. I was then given the opportunity to supervise both the Adult and Youth Drug Court program for my agency. I would also return to school during this time and obtain a Bachelor of Science in Psychology.
I have seen and been a part of a lot of change over the years. Some changes have really benefited the clients by providing more individualized services and opportunities. During the pandemic, the Blake Ruling was handed down by the Washington State Supreme Court. This ruling stated that possession charges were no longer a felony. I watched helplessly as some of our client’s charges were dismissed and with that dismissal their opportunity for recovery. Most of these clients returned to use and have struggled to get sober again.
I think about my own journey and what would have happened to me if I did not have the opportunity that I had. Drug Courts work! They provide us the structure, support, and accountability that we need to learn how to live life without substances. Today, I am a father, a son, a brother, a coach, an employee, and many other things. I owe this all to the opportunity that I received so many years ago that helped me start my journey in recovery.
NADCP ART CONTEST RUNNER UP
Out of my Shell – New Identity
The red road to welbriety in my Native American culture is when we are on our way to mental wellness and sobriety. The turtle represents myself and my sober identity coming out of the shell and as you see I put no face on the turtle inside the shell because in addiction, I had no real identity.
The WSADCP Training Committee would like to thank Jamie Reed, Program Manager, for her contribution to our Treatment Court Month celebration.
