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Mental Health Court graduates two; three others also advancing in court
By joe gorman
youngstown
The Mental Health Court in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court had a graduation ceremony, and participants were told that the court allows them to have the tools necessary to turn their lives around.
Tom Arens, program director for the Doris Burdman Home & Independent Housing, told those in attendance that the court gives those who are at a troubled time in their life a way to help themselves.
“In this society — in this system — you deserve the benefit of a doubt,” Arens said. “Your fate, your future, is in your hands. This is your shot at redemption.”
The Mental Health Court is a program designed to work with felony criminal defendants with mental-health issues who, as a result of their illness, come in contact with the justice system. Participants in the court go through a two-year program instead of jail time.
On Thursday, two people successfully completed the two-year program and were given certificates. An additional three people had moved onto different phases in the court. Judge Maureen Sweeney, who runs the program, said the court has been in existence since 2006 and has about 20 participants in its current session.
Judge Sweeney said since the court’s inception, just one person who was accepted has re-offended. She said the low recidivism rate is because participants who have completed the program feel better about themselves, which keeps them out of trouble.
“They feel better, and they become productive, and they like being productive,” Judge Sweeney said. “It’s like anything else: once you get into the program you tend to embrace it.”
Arens said that participants are not much different than the counselors and lawyers they work with. He said life can be derailed for anyone at any time, and that everyone has a capacity to change and redeem themselves as well.
“This is about heading in a new direction,” Arens said.