Judge, Commissioners Combine Efforts In Pilot Drug Recovery Program

Associate Circuit Court Judge Devin Kirby is spearheading a special project which will give former drug users a safer place to land, thus giving them their best chance of staying clean and sober.

The project appears to be the first of its kind in Missouri and ultimately could serve as a model for other communities.

The plan involves turning a county-owned house into a duplex which will be used as temporary housing for people which the court deems to be good candidates for rehabilitation. Specifically, the home will be used by two individuals who have successfully completed drug court sobriety requirements.

“It is important for people recovering from addiction to separate themselves from the people and places that were part of their former lifestyle,” says Judge Kirby.

He was part of a focus group that identified the need for housing as the number one obstacle to a successful rehabilitation program in Ripley County.

“This goes back to a series of meetings I attended last summer held by the Office of State Court Administration. The idea was to get all stakeholders in each county that have services available to the justice system to identify gaps of service within the communities,” says the judge.

About 150 attended the two-day session and broke into groups to discuss and identify problems and come up with solutions.

Kirby came away from the meetings and brought the housing issue to the attention of the Ripley County Commission.

A clear game plan emerged.

It happens that the county owns a house on Lafayette Street which had been used for several years as storage by Missouri Highlands, but was recently vacated.

It also happens that the county has some $68,523 in opioid money that must be spent on projects geared toward drug intervention/rehabilitation.

“This is a really good way for us to use that building and that money,” says Kirby.

Worst case scenario, if the program isn’t successful, the investment will have resulted in significant improvement of the Lafayette Street house, which is owned by the county, and is in need of repair.

The house will require some remodeling to turn it into a duplex. Plans include throwing up a wall so that the interior is divided into two single-dwelling efficiency units, both with its own separate entrance, a rest room, kitchenette and a bedroom.

Another facet of the project is that most or all of the work will be done by Alternative Treatment Court participants, who have been given 100 hours of community service as part of their sentence.

“We have a person in the alternative treatment program with a background in building trades. He and some others in the program have been clearing out the rooms, and we received the building materials which they will need for the project, on Friday,” says Judge Kirby.

Those who work at the site will have the added benefit of learning practical skills, working with construction tools, and performing tasks such as drywall and tiling.

Judge Kirby says he is also looking into grants which may help with funding for the security cameras they will install on the premises.

“The occupants who will be staying at the house will be people who are in Alternative Treatment Court, which is an 18-month program,” says Judge Kirby.

Those in the program are drug tested a minimum of three times a week, along with surprise checks, proven to be clean and sober, and attend counseling each week at the Family Counseling Center.

“The goal of the program is to get them employed and self-supporting. Some don’t have family support or friends who would be a good influence. They need some place to go for those 60 days it takes to get through phase II of the program. By keeping them out of those risky environments, we will be giving them the best chance for success,” says Judge Kirby.

He hopes this project will prove to be a “divide and conquer” type of situation.

“If this can turn things around for one or two people at a time, that can have a positive impact on them and also their families,” says the judge.