2017 Michigan Judiciary Success Stories 

​Please send us your stories! We are looking for the following contributions from our member courts:
  • Point of View Articled from "the front".
  • Event reports (graduations, fundraisers, alumni groups, presentations, photo documentaries)
  • Peer support ideas
  • Videos
Please send materials to info@matcp.org and enter "Our Stories" in the subject line.

Click a link below to read the corresponding story.

  • Families Against Narcotics...A Mother's Story
  • Margaret Berehulka, 50 - Drug Court Graduate ​
  • Harold Canfield, 73 - Drug Court Graduate ​
  • James Harper, 63 - Veterans Court Graduate ​​
  • Kelly Barksdale, 31 - Drug Court Graduate 
  • Myra & Wilber Dunn, Parents of Justin Dunn - Veterans Court Graduate ​​
  • 18 Year Old - Juvenile  Court Graduate ​
  • Michelle Myers, 42 - Drug Court Graduate ​
  • Robert Barksdale, 29 - Drug Court Graduate  ​​

Families Against Narcotics...A Mother's Story

​Families Against Narcotics (FAN) and I met when I was at my lowest point. I was sick and needed help. I felt there was no one out there that had ever gone through what I was living through, let alone understand what it was like to be a mother of an addict a 17 year old heroin addict. But what I found was a group of people who were going through the same hell I was, and living with the stigma of heroin addiction. We were ashamed, humiliated, angry, but most of all scared. Scared that our children would never beat this disease, never be well again, afraid they would die. I didn’t raise my son to become an addict, but he became one. I divorced his father when he was four years old so he wouldn’t have to live in an alcoholic home like his older brother and sister. The sad fact is the addiction found him anyway.
In May 2007, he called me to tell me he had been picked up by the Detroit Police because he and his friend, a couple of young white kids from the suburbs, were in a known drug area. What he told me next was like a punch in the gut. He told me that he was a heroin addict and that he had been using for a few months, five I think he said. He also said that he had been trying to tell me for months about his addiction, but I am sure I would have remembered if he had said, “Hey, Mom I am a heroin addict." This was my introduction to the world of heroin addiction.

I never suspected anything; he always wanted money, and always $15.00, every time I turned around. But what teenager doesn’t want money? He was never home, always with his friends. When he did come home it would be get his Play Station and go to his friends, or grab a bunch of movies because they were going to hang out and play games and watch movies. He was always drinking water and wore a hoodie morning, noon and night. He was losing weight, melting before my very eyes, but I never saw it. Everything went unnoticed because I didn’t know that I was supposed to be looking for it. I did not know that the game station, DVD’s and anything else he could get his hands on were sold or pawned for drug money. His constant thirst was direct side effect of opiate addiction. His hoodie, well that covered up his track marks. My son, a very bright, talented, honor roll student had become a heroin addict and the sad fact is it happened right before my very eyes. Addicts are smart, and will out smart you every time, unless you get help. Addiction is a family disease and once it invades your home, you become as sick as the addict. FAN became my saving grace, along with my 12 step program; it helped me find my way back to sanity.
Over the last five years we have had many relapses and bumps in our road to recovery. There was no quick fix to recovery; I found out that it is a long, long road. You have to find some strength from within, you have to find your higher power; and you pray every night that he doesn’t die, that the addiction won’t win. Recovery can happen, but it can only happen when the addict is ready. He has to admit he is powerless over his addiction and that his life has become unmanageable. What I didn’t understand, but later learned is that the addict has to want the help, only then can his recovery truly begin.
The greatest thing I learned through FAN and working my 12 step program is that I didn’t cause his addiction, I can’t cure it, even though as his mother I thought that I could, and I certainly can’t control it. You can only live one day at a time; sometimes just one moment, because that is all God gives us. You have to let go and let God. I thank God everyday for bringing FAN to me and me to FAN. There is so much healing when you step out of the way and let God do his work.
Cheryl is a parent speaker for FAN and often shares her story with parents, schools, and community groups. For more information, visit www.familiesagainstnarcotics.org.

Margaret Berehulka, 50
Drug Court Graduate ​

I knew for at least 15 years that I had a problem with alcohol. I felt desperate, lost and hopeless. My life was unmanageable, my marriage deteriorated, and my young daughter became distant. Life was filled with fear and all I knew to cope with it was drink. The alcohol that made life this way was what became my companion. Wine was involved in everything. The only time I would remain sober was when I was pregnant with my daughter. I didn’t know what to do.When I was given the option of Sobriety Court, I took it. I knew change had to happen and wanted it to happen. Sobriety in and of itself made me become aware of what really was happening in my life. The program gave me the courage to do what was needed. It directed me to the 12 step program that has become my lifeline. I have a tremendous amount of friends in the program, and always have someone I can call. The people involved with Sobriety Court pushed me to get the help I desperately needed.
Today I am happy. I am most grateful for finding out who I am and it turns out I am a caring and compassionate person. I am a great friend, a loving mother, and a hard worker. This year my daughter wrote a paper titled “The Most Inspirational Woman in My Life”. That woman was me.

Harold Canfield, 73
​Drug Court Graduate ​

For years before Sobriety Court I was in and out of the 12 step program. No matter what I would always return to drinking after a few years of sobriety. Every day was a party. I drank literally 7 days a week. It impacted my marriages and my health. I had 3 heart attacks, had glaucoma, diabetes and still went back to drinking. Nothing stopped me.
At the time of my last drinking and driving arrest while I was in jail I had another heart attack. The doctor told me quit drinking or die. I knew I didn’t want to die but nothing stopped me before. I decided then I wanted to live. Since the day I met Judge MacKenzie and his staff my life has turned around completely. I felt everyone in Sobriety Court saw something in me that no one else saw. I took that opportunity to help not only myself, but others. I have sponsored over 60 people and helped hundreds more. I feel a pride I never felt before in my life. I went from not caring about anything to loving myself, others, and life.
I feel lucky that I got to be a part of Sobriety Court. I have enough pride to walk in the Judges chambers and talk to him man to man. I am also on the Sobriety Court Board and have raised thousands of dollars for the program that helped save my life. Today, I choose to be sober.

James Harper, 63
Veterans Court Graduate ​

The tragic and sudden loss of my beautiful wife started a downward spiral that I couldn’t control. I had no feelings. I completely numbed myself. I felt I had lost everything that day and I didn’t know how to cope. My sons didn’t know how to help me, and were very fearful of what might happen. Alcohol was my coping mechanism. It helped me numb the pain and then that was all I became... numb.
When I was first arrested for drunk driving, I was very angry. I remember meeting the judge and was shocked when he treated me with respect. From the beginning, he told me I would be the first person in his court to complete Veterans Court. He had a plan for me. My probation officer, the judge and the staff all treated me with respect. The judge told me he considered me a hero for my service to this country. Veterans Court helped me get the benefits and help I needed through the Veterans Administration.
Today, I have found new love. A woman named Donna has come into my life and has helped me heal. This never would have happened without my sobriety. My kids are happy and no longer worry about me. They express gratitude for the people who’ve helped me find sobriety. Through this experience, I’ve found happiness and life is great.

Kelly Barksdale, 31
​Drug Court Graduate ​

I started using at the age of 16. By the time I turned 18 things had gotten very bad, going to raves, doing a lot of drugs and drinking. I was in with a very bad crowd and was going nowhere and doing nothing with my life. In 2004, I was arrested twice in 3 months for drinking and driving and went to rehab to stay out of jail. As crazy as it sounds, I still didn’t think I had a problem. But as a first introduction to treatment, I realized I liked the camaraderie of the sober community, but fully expected to use again. I spent another 3 ½ years in the chaos of drugs and alcohol. I would often use out of guilt and then feel guilty for using, it was a circle, like a carousel I couldn’t get off of. This invisible burden was ruining my life.
About 3 months after my first baby was born, I was drinking again. I was picked up by the police twice in the same day, and the second time they arrested me. I was facing a felony drunk driving charge that I got while driving to the dope house with my husband. By that point, I was sick of how I was living life. I had heard of Sobriety Court and how rigid it was and knew I needed the rigidity. I picked Sobriety Court because I was ready for the change. Even though the program was much more strict than any probation I had ever gotten, it was the easiest one for me because for once, I wanted to be sober. The program helped me to learn and accept responsibility. I became accountable, for my actions and for myself. Sobriety Court taught me to be an adult. Before the program I wasn’t much of a mother, and now I know I can nurture and love all 3 of my children the way they deserve. I enjoy being a mother, a wife, employee, and an asset to society. By the grace of God, I am still sober and so happy to have the opportunity to just live.

Myra & Wilber Dunn, Parents of Justin Dunn
 Veterans Court Graduate ​

Our kids are our whole life. So when our son, Justin, decided to join the service we were naturally proud, and afraid. After being exposed to a chemical, he became very ill and was close to death. Once he returned to us we were so happy, but Justin was different. Life was awful. He was unpredictable, and there was a lot of uncertainty. The original illness while in the service changed his brain. He was suicidal, had major depression and we were living in fear we were going to lose him after we just got him back. While suffering from bi-polar disorder and PTSD, Justin was arrested.
When Justin got into Veterans Court, the Judge helped him get his self-esteem back. The program gave him the structure that he thrives on. When Justin would see the Judge he would be called a hero, the hero we always knew he was. Through Veteran’s Court we were able to see him stabilize, and recover. The program helped cut through all of the bureaucratic red tape and got him his 100% disability that he deserved. Today, we have our Justin back.

18 Year Old
 Juvenile  Court Graduate ​

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I started smoking pot at 13. My “friends” told me it was no big deal and I believed them because “everyone was doing it”. Except not everyone ended up shooting heroin by the age of 15. I guess I have what’s called an addictive personality. So everything I did was not only a big deal, but I liked it all. Drinking, smoking, and shooting had become what I did. It didn’t take my parents long to figure out something was very wrong. I would skip school, was failing all my classes, and often just wouldn’t come home. They were scared. They tried to get me to go to treatment, and sometimes I would even go, only to walk out. I was very unhealthy and didn’t care about anything. I had become so unfeeling that I didn’t even know to be ashamed.The day I got arrested for Possession of Narcotics changed my life. I don’t know if the officer will ever know what he did that day. It started a journey on a road leading me back to the life I was supposed to have. The only thing I feared was being locked up, because I knew I would withdraw. So when the Judge put me in drug court, I decided I better do what she said, at least long enough to get them all off my back. I didn’t intend for it to work, I just needed to ease the pressure. But it turned out that treatment works if you actually stay, and the people in “those meetings” as I thought of them before, really do care. And maybe, just maybe if I could go one more day without using my parents would let me get my car back. I guess everyone together saved my life.
Now I remember what really made me happy not that long ago. My little sister tackling me, my mom’s baking, playing football, and my “real friends” the ones that worried when I was destroying my life. I know now that drugs and alcohol almost took it all away. I will have a life, and it will be good.

Michelle Myers, 42
Drug Court Graduate ​

When I was using I always had desperation of wanting more out of life. I had no confidence in myself and didn’t believe in myself. I wasted a lot of time in the bar scene and was going nowhere fast. Although I stayed close with my family, I kept what I was doing to myself, hidden. lost a great deal of myself respect and was ashamed of who I was.
Sending me to Rehab was the best thing that Sobriety Court could have done for me. At first the program was hard, but once I got clean it got easier. I was treated with dignity from the deputies at the door, to the probation staff, and on up to the Judge. I know I can always go back to the members of Sobriety Court for help and I feel loved and cared for by them.
Today, with sobriety, I feel more alive. Even when things don’t go well I can keep a positive attitude and feel that I can change things. I am no longer ashamed of who I am. I went back and finished school so I could get a career.
Today I am happy!

Robert Barksdale, 29
​Drug Court Graduate  ​

When I was drinking I was absolutely unpredictable. I never cared about myself or what would happen. Life was filled with my broken promises and all I had to offer my loved ones was constant disappointment. Although I could achieve things such as obtaining good jobs, I would lose them because of my drinking. There came a time when my wife couldn’t take the fear of what person would come home to her, the drinking, angry me, or the me that she knew and loved. I completely gave up on myself...and then I got arrested...again.
Sobriety Court was offered to me and I viewed it as an opportunity for change. I knew how to be sober, but I didn’t know how to stay that way. I started gaining accountability and got to truly make my own decisions. Through the 12 step program that I attend, and the responsibilities that sobriety court forced me to take on, I have learned to do the right thing at the right time.
Today, my wife and I are sober, and have 3 small children. Nothing matters to me more than my family. I feel better about myself as a parent, husband, and employee. Through the 12 step program, I met someone who gave me a chance, and am in the process of fulfilling my goal of becoming a Sous Chef. Life for my children will be better because of my commitment to sobriety.