Monday was a special day for seven individuals on the path to a new life after graduating from Kona Drug Court.
Big Island Drug Court, established in 2002 by retired 3rd Circuit Chief Judge Ronald Ibarra, is designed to address crimes related to substance abuse, and provide alternatives to incarceration. The program provides participants access to court-based intensive outpatient substance abuse treatment, intensive care management, and probation supervision.
Since its inception, 338 adults have graduated from the 18-month program.
Konane Mersberg is now one of those graduates following Monday’s ceremony marking the 58th class to complete the rigorous program. Born and raised in Kona, she dropped out of high school and started working.
“I started using drugs at a young age,” she recalled. “I was 10 years clean when I had my kids then I fell back on hard times and started using again.”
She said her mom had her two children, now in elementary school, during her relapse, but when her mother passed away her sister took the kids in. Because she is now clean, her sister is working with her to get her kids back.
“When I was in my addiction I kept on getting in trouble, probation, no probation. I was sitting in jail for seven months when Judge Kim gave me the ultimatum of Drug Court or five years in jail, so I took drug court,” she said.
Mersberg said Drug Court set goals for her, which was helpful.
“During my addiction, I always wanted to get clean and get my kids back. I wanted to but I just didn’t have the tools or support at that time,” she said. “I was clean the whole time I was in jail. It gave me time to think about what I want in life. With the help of Drug Court and their guidelines and rules, they helped me stay clean.”
Mersberg is now works at the Ohana Addiction Treatment Center and is working on getting certified as a substance abuse counselor to help others who are battling addiction.
Anthony McPherson had been in and out of jail for probation violations since 2013. In 2019, he was arrested again for noncompliance and was given the chance to enter Drug Court.
“I jumped on it,” he said. “It was at a point that they were either going to max me out or try something different.”
He was offered a spot in Drug Court when he was still in jail. After being accepted, he was released to Bridge House.
“I knew Drug Court was a proactive approach to probation,” he explained. “With regular probation they give you guidelines and consequences. With Drug Court, they actually take part in your life. I knew this was something I needed because I wasn’t in a position to be able to be held accountable for non-guidance and trying to better myself. I didn’t know how. I knew the life of a criminal. I knew the life of a drug addict. This is how I lived my whole life since I was a little kid. As an addict, you try to better your life, you try to do the right thing and become a productive member of society but you have this chain that’s attached to you and no matter where you go that chain is still there. Sooner or later your addiction is going to get a hold of that chain and pull you right back down.”
Drug Court allowed McPherson to be exposed to things like recovery, rehab and gave him tools that allow him to identify the parts of himself that he didn’t know were making him sick.
“Our recidivism rate is 80% success rate, tracking graduates for three years and seeing if they have been convicted of a new felony,” said Drug Court Coordinator Grayson Hashida.
Kona Drug Court Judge Wendy DeWeese praised the program she has overseen since July 2020.
“In addition to the incredible accomplishments of our graduates, Monday’s graduation was a testament to the importance of the role that treatment courts play in the justice system and our community,” she said. “They work. They reduce recidivism, save money, and most importantly they restore people’s dignity and connections to family and community. I hope to continue to evolve, improve and strengthen our program so that we can serve more non-violent offenders in our court system who first and foremost need treatment, close supervision and support.”
“I have been successful since entering Drug Court and trying to get my life back,” said Mersberg.
For information about how you can become a supporter of the program through the Friends of the Big Island Drug Court, contact the Drug Court Probation office in Hilo at (808) 961-7566, or in Kona at (808) 443-2200.