Greetings,
My name is Jill and I am grateful to Ocean County Drug Court (NJ).
I want to start by saying that after a long life of using and a life of crime, being offered the Drug Court program was the best decision I had ever made. At first I did not want to take it but I knew that I had to do something different. After the life of hell that I was living and all that I was putting my family through, I wanted something new.
At first I wasn’t very receptive to the program and after 2 sanctions and three programs, I thought it was over. I was going to prison but the Judge saw something in me and I am ever so grateful to him and still keep in touch with him to this day.
Judge Wendell Daniels and the Drug Court team at the Superior Court of Ocean County NJ gave me my faith and my life back and helped me to become the lady that I am today. The Drug Court team never gave up on me and I still speak to the coordinator Carole Haines on a regular basis.
I have had a wonderful life in recovery but am not saying that things have been easy. I retained custody of my daughter after being home from treatment for 6 months and trying to be mom was the hardest thing I ever had to do. However I kept the faith and had so many strong women and officers in my life to support me. I also had a great job at the treatment facility that I graduated from. I was hired as a part-time treatment aid and was later promoted to Assistant Director of Residential Service and Quality Improvement. It was a pleasure to sit across the table from the probation officers who helped me throughout my own Drug Court process.
I am a stay at home mom now and that is fine with me. I have the life I always wanted. I am with my kids and my new husband and have been clean since January 3, 2005. I have spoken at many commitments and was even the speaker at my graduation. I was on the panel for the second annual Drug Court convention and speak during Drug Court month as well.
If I was ever forced to say thanks to Drug Court I would be speechless. There are no words that can describe how grateful I am. Drug Court gave me a life that I never could have ever imagined.
Respectfully,
Jill Scardena -Cady