(Cleveland) – The 46th Graduation Ceremony of the Greater Cleveland Drug Court, under the direction of Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Anita Laster Mays will take place Wednesday, June 11, 2014 at 4:30 p.m. at the Cuyahoga County Jury Assembly Room, located on the fourth floor of the Justice Center.

A total of 22 people will graduate, which brings the total number of people who successfully completed the program to 1,398 since it began 16 years ago.  Of that number, almost 80% remain sober and drug-free.

“This class has some truly remarkable stories coming out of it.   One graduate dealt with his house catching fire and another is a veteran in his seventies addicted to crack. While he was in Drug Court, his wife passed away….and the only wish she had was for him to get sober,” said Judge Mays.  

The keynote speaker for the ceremony will be Kim Fowler, Manager of Seasons of Hope, a safe house for women who in the middle of night, have no place to go.

As part of the Hitchcock Center for Women, Seasons of Hope is open to all women with no expectation of treatment. They can take a shower, get access to clean clothes, a meal and time to rest comfortably with information and supportive peers available.

“Many of Anthony Sowell’s victims would be alive today if they had a place like Seasons of Hope,” said Fowler, who at one time lived in an abandoned building and was addicted to drugs.

The Drug Court Program is a sanction-based year-long program that emphasizes treatment and accountability.  Should a participant fail a drug test, or is otherwise non-compliant, a sanction is imposed.  The Greater Cleveland Drug Court was created in l998 under the direction of the Honorable Larry A. Jones and taken over in 2009 by Judge Mays.