Building a Social Network of Sobriety and Support

One of the golden rules of recovery is Thou Shalt Not Isolate. Life is just better if you have other people around you who are experiencing what you are experiencing and who are encouraging and supportive, especially of your sobriety. It’s especially important with substance abuse disorder recovery because it’s tough to stay sober in this alcohol/drug-soaked world in which we live. It is also tough to find fun things to do that are substance-free. (This is one reason the Party Sober Partnership was formed.)

This is why many Texas Specialty Courts have alumni groups that meet regularly, perform community service projects together and hold holiday parties. The hope is that friendships will form that continue long after probations terminate. But membership is only mandatory until the client’s probation term has ended, and unfortunately, most former clients do not opt to stay part of the group.

This was not a noticeable issue until the pandemic hit. 2020 was a terrible year for those in recovery. Quarantines created isolation and alcohol use went through the roof, as did overdose deaths. The Harris County Specialty Courts suffered two terrible losses that year: Kelly Hinton and Erik Richards, both STAR alumni with years of sobriety under their belts. They both had careers in the recovery field and remained active as alumni of the program. We can only speculate as to why they relapsed after so many years, but their deaths had a tremendous impact on the folks who work in the STAR courts and on us at Justice Forward.

A problem solver by nature, I stewed over what we could do to possibly prevent tragedies like these going forward. One thing we were painfully aware of was the fact that once our clients finished probation, the support they received up to that point disappeared. This is the main reason we continue to offer support to those who are in the community and off probation. But our approach was to wait for them to reach out to us for help. I decided that maybe we shouldn’t wait, but instead, take the initiative and reach out to them. 

Thus the Alumni Outreach program was born. We are recruiting a group of volunteers to reach out to Specialty Court graduates by phone or email every four months or so on behalf of Justice Forward. The volunteers will be instructed to make it clear they’re not calling on behalf of the court or police. They will be provided with a script that will guide them in describing the assistance Justice Forward provides and how to access it. We are hopeful that regular contact with the graduates may encourage them to speak up and ask for help if they are in crisis.

Thanks to our amazing Court Alliance Council, we have contact information for all the 2021 graduates, and volunteers ready to reach out. However, we are still looking for those who want to assist in reaching out to Felony Mental Health Court graduates. Because of the special nature of the FMHC clientele, we are requiring that these volunteers first take an online course offered by Mental Health America. If you are interested in helping with this important effort, email us at info@justiceforwardhouston.org.

We hope that with a strong group of volunteers from our community, we can continue to assist Specialty Court graduates, especially during the toughest times of their lives.