Breaking Down Barriers: Diversion program achieves success by accepting setbacks
ALAMOSA, Colo. — Addictions are complex and as unique as the people who struggle with them. The effects of addiction are often persistent and recurring, causing those in treatment to experience setbacks as they work toward recovery.
For participants in Alamosa’s Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion program, the road to treatment and recovery often begins when criminal charges are filed, but under the LEAD program, those seeking treatment will have their criminal charges diverted, and eventually dropped, while they get help with their addiction. And while some diversion programs require sobriety at the beginning of the program — and can even drop people from the program if they fail just one drug test — the LEAD program doesn’t have those tight constraints, according to City Manager Heather Brooks.
“They’re always in the program. They may move away or they may turn their life around and never need to be involved with law enforcement again, but we also know it’s not a straight line,” she said. “A lot of times, someone can be on the right path and then a family member dies and it sends them right back to other behaviors, and they have to rebuild again.”
If someone in the program relapses, social workers will work with them to get sober again, and continue to work toward recovery. Program participants aren’t required to be sober to begin the program either. The idea is that when someone is ready to accept help, social workers don’t want any barriers in their way.
Clarissa Woodworth, a social worker with the Center for Restorative Programs, said it’s important for program participants to know they will always have support from their LEAD caseworkers, especially during setbacks. By providing them a safe environment without judgment, they’re able to better handle setbacks and continue to work toward recovery.
“One of the nice philosophies of this program is you don’t fail,” Woodworth said. “You don’t relapse and then you’re out.”
Accepting that some people in the program will experience setbacks in their recovery is key, according to LEAD Program Manager Carey Deacon. And while a relapse is a common setback, it’s not the only one program participants experience. Some are arrested on new charges, as was the case of one of the first participants in the program, Deacon said.
The man didn’t have a job or a driver’s license when he began the program, and social workers were able to connect him with services to help him obtain both. Even with those barriers removed, he picked up new criminal charges in another county, but according to Deacon, when the judge looked at the progress he’d made in treatment, the judge dismissed the charges so he could continue working at his job, and continue working toward recovery.
While it’s important to anticipate and plan for setbacks, it’s also important to not expect them in every case, Deacon said. Some program participants flourish without setbacks, as was the case with a woman originally from California who’d lost her kids and fallen in with a group of people who introduced her to drugs.
Deacon and others with the LEAD program were able to connect her with services to help her earn a high school diploma, and to help her get back to California and reconnect with her family.
Connecting people to the services they need is the primary focus for Deacon and Woodworth, whether that need is a driver’s license, access to a cellphone, a place to live or a referral to a drug treatment facility, when someone asks for help, they want to make sure they get it.
“When someone does reach out, we don’t want them to hear ‘no,’” Woodworth said.
Success through flexibility
LEAD social workers spend much of their time in the community they serve, not behind desks in offices. By showing those in the community they care and are there to help, it’s built trust with people in the community, and it’s helped the program gain support from everyone involved, according to Mayor Ty Coleman.
“This program meets the clients — the people — where they are, and they don’t judge those people,” Coleman said. “I think that’s very important in regards to the success of the program, and in getting buy-in from the stakeholders as well.”
The 12th Judicial District Attorney’s office is a crucial stakeholder that the program needs in order to succeed, and according to Scott Dillon, LEAD liaison for the DA’s office, they are willing to collaborate with others stakeholders because the program has shown positive results, and because of the program’s flexibility.
“We’re able to change the policy … so we can get better results,” he said. “If the program is failing for a specific reason, we can make a change.”
And while small towns and rural counties are often hampered by their size, Brooks, the city manager, said she feels the small size of Alamosa is an asset because it allowed them to assemble a great team quicker than a larger city could have.
As a result of the efforts of city leaders, Brooks said they’ve seen great results from the program, and that local and state partners are supportive and have taken note that LEAD is making a difference.
Though while it’s great to have recognition from others, Brooks said the program is ultimately about helping people in need.
“We want them to get sober,” she said. “When you are really working with people to help them improve and make better choices, it heals not only them, but their loved ones, their friends and the community.”
This story has been supported by the Solutions Journalism Network, solutionsjournalism.org.
