EVERETT—DJ Rivera, brother to Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Whitney Rivera, had a normal childhood growing up, but when his father passed away around his seventeenth birthday he turned to drugs and alcohol.
His life quickly spun out of control until it culminated with being arrested on December 8, 2005, for a controlled substance. Instead of facing jail time, Rivera entered the Snohomish County Adult Recovery Court. He now has 17 years of sobriety and works as Youth Clinical Supervisor for Catholic Community Services.
“I get to do a lot of cool things because I followed the instructions of a Judge and their team,” said Rivera. “That’s what this program does, it reunites families.”
In another case, Amber Dabney was kicked out of her house and lost custody of her children in 2019. She had been struggling with substance abuse and had undergone treatment at least five times which she said was driven by her mental health issues. Upon being hit with seven felony charges, Dabney faced seven years in prison but was offered an alternative, Adult Recovery Court.
She underwent the Snohomish County Adult Recovery Court treatment program and is now over 1,000 days sober and has regained custody of her kids—a complete turnaround.
“My life is amazing now. I love my life today. I’m close to my family who I haven’t been close to in a very, long time and it’s all because of this program,” said Dabney.
Snohomish County Adult Recovery Court (ARC) celebrated its 25th year of providing therapeutic and legal services for adults affected by substance use disorder and involved with the criminal justice system. The ceremony was held on Thursday, October 3, at the Snohomish County Courts in downtown Everett.
“The celebration of 25 years of what we’re doing here is about people,” said Judge Wilson Thursday. “There’re so many stories, and so many changes, and so many miracles I don’t even know where to begin. It’s remarkable, every single participant whether successful or not successful has been impacted by this community’s willingness to stand up for these alternatives to prosecution.”
ARC is a twelve-to-eighteen-month voluntary program that allows people, aged 18 or older, to participate in treatment services as an alternative to incarceration. Upon successful completion of ARC, a participant’s current felony charge(s) will be dismissed.
Founded in 1998, the program has seen 981 graduates since represented by the 981 silver stars which adorned the court room walls during Thursday’s ceremony.
In 1999, through those discussions and grant funding, a program called CHART (Choosing Healthy Alternatives to Recovery and Treatment) – a program that decided to look alternatives to the criminal justice system for people suffering with substance abuse.
In 2010, CHART became the Adult Treatment Court which changed its named to Adult Recovery Court in 2020 to be more inclusive.
ARC supports participants in their recovery journey through individualized case management, monitoring, and expedited services. Just a few of the services offered include substance use disorder treatment, mental health evaluation, educational assistance, housing assistance, connections to community resources, skills and tools to maintaining recovery, and an alumni group for continued support.
Thursday’s ceremony was led by the Honorable Joseph P. Wilson, featuring words from Snohomish County Councilwoman Megan Dunn, Alessandra Szebenyi, Snohomish County Chief of Staff speaking on behalf of Executive Dave Somers, County Prosecutor Jason Cummings, and Kathleen Kyle, Executive Director of Snohomish County Public Defender Association.
“I am so in awe of people who are living in recovery, that they have some widened wisdom and one of those is when you walk into recovery court, regardless of background, mom and dad stop fighting, our petty disagreements fall away and we all there for a united purpose,” said Kathleen Kyle. “But in that room, there is an alignment that feels energizing. Thank you for the 25 years of recovery teams who have worked in those courts and provided that support to the true heroes of that room who are the people in recovery.”
Prosecutor Cummings shared a heartfelt story about his nephew, also named Jason, is currently suffering from substance abuse and homelessness in Eastern Washington.
“Society has demonized addiction. What hurts about that is people don’t choose to be addicts. The chemical composition, the mental health components lead to addiction,” said Cummings. “What recovery courts can do, what therapeutic options can do is move from that stigma to salvation by giving people the opportunities, the tools, the resources, to get people back to society.”
Also in attendance at Thursday’s ceremony was Snohomish County Sheriff Susanna Johnson; Washington State Representatives Lauren Davis (D-Shoreline), Mary Fosse (D-Everett), and Carolyn Eslick (R-Sultan); state Senator June Robinson (D-Everett), and a list of Snohomish County Superior Court Judges to name a few.
The first step in consideration for entry into Snohomish County Adult Recovery Court (ARC) is a referral to the Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office from the client’s defense attorney.
Once notified of a client’s interest in entering ARC, the Prosecuting Attorney assigned to ARC will confirm whether the client meets program requirements and facilitate the intake process.
The client will be screened by a Recovery Court Coordinator, undergo a substance use disorder assessment, and take part in a mental health evaluation (if clinically recommended) prior to entering ARC.
The Prosecuting Attorney’s Office may be reached by calling (425) 388-3333.
Author: Kienan Briscoe
