Cleveland Municipal Court Presents First Sober Ball Promoting and Celebrating Recovery

Jun 20, 2016

In an effort to raise awareness about addiction and to support those recovering from drug and alcohol addiction, the Cleveland Municipal Court and the Greater Cleveland Drug Court are presented “Sober Ball 2016” at Crossroads House, located on 460 Northfield Road in Bedford, Ohio Friday, June 17 from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Contact: Ed Ferenc, Public Information Officer
Cleveland Municipal Court
216 664 6787 / 216 789 2597
[email protected]     www.cmcoh.org

(Cleveland) – In an effort to raise awareness about addiction and to support those recovering from drug and alcohol addiction, the Cleveland Municipal Court and the Greater Cleveland Drug Court are presented “Sober Ball 2016” at Crossroads House, located on 460 Northfield Road in Bedford, Ohio Friday, June 17 from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m.

“This is just another way to highlight the achievements of consumers and agencies who all worked together to promote and celebrate recovery,” said the Honorable Lauren C. Moore, the judge who oversees the Greater Cleveland Drug Court.

200 people attended the inaugural event, one of them Liah Long, a former heroin addict who has been in the Drug Court Program for eight months. Liah started drinking and doing drugs while attending Westlake High School a decade ago.

“I never went to dances because I was using and felt it wasn’t the cool thing to do.   Now that I’m sober, I am really looking forward to this event,” she said.

Liah and the others attending have played a major role on planning the Sober Ball, which has attracted much community support. Local businesses and organizations have donated suits, tuxedos, ties, shoes, water, punch, even haircuts to participants.

“This is a community problem and the community has responded generously,” noted Judge Moore.

The Greater Cleveland Drug Court Program is one of four specialized dockets at the court. The others include the Veterans Treatment, Mental Health and Human Trafficking Dockets.

Specialized dockets are courts that are dedicated to specific types of offenses or offenders and use a combination of different techniques for holding offenders accountable while also addressing the underlying causes of their behavior. There are more than 150 specialized dockets in Ohio.

The Drug Court Program began in the Cleveland Municipal Court in 1998 and has since expanded throughout Cuyahoga County.