HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) - Jared Baldwin said it was his family that helped him get through the Cabell County Drug Court process, which included a year of intense lifestyle changes.
Baldwin said it was only fitting that he celebrate Monday night surrounded by his wife, four children and dozens of new members of his drug court family.
He was one of 60 current and past drug court participants who celebrated with staff for a Christmas party at Marshall University’s Campus Christian Center. The party included a visit from Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus and a giveaway of more than $2,000 in presents.
Baldwin, 35, of Barboursville, graduated from the program Dec. 2. He said his four children, ranging in ages from 1 to 7 years old, and his wife, Tori, were the main reasons he decided to get clean from drugs. He said he’s always thankful to staff and participants who helped him turn his life around.
“It feels really nice to be included in something now that’s not destructive,” he said. “To develop a family here in this and the massive amount of support you have from them, it’s completely different. It’s something I wasn’t used to before; it’s like night and day from where I came from.”
This is about the fourth year Cabell County Drug Court staff has thrown a Christmas party for past and current participants in the program. It’s important to show participants what family life can be like if they turn away from the destructive path of drugs and addition, said Matt Meadows, Cabell County probation officer.
“It’s sort of putting the brakes on some of these folks’ lives that were out of control or unmanageable,” Meadows said.
Seeing the participants’ children get excited about their gifts also put things into perspective for drug court staff. It validates the hard work that drug court staff and volunteers put in, he said.
A majority of Monday’s gifts were donated from members of the legal community who received a request for donations from volunteer, Brian Morrison, an attorney at Oxley Rich Sammons Law Firm.
About $2,000 in monetary donations came in, as well as bikes and other bigger gifts, said volunteer Missy Clagg Morrison, program administrator at Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine.
The Morrisons played the role of Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus, taking pictures with children and helping to hand out gifts. Missy Morrison said it was important to her and Brian Morrison to help create Christmas memories and traditions for the children.
“This might be a memory they don’t have or they wouldn’t otherwise have with their kids this year,” she said. “To me, this is precious and this is the wonderful part of Christmas, just to be able to come and share this with them.”
Kathy Melbda, of K&S Delights, prepared Monday night’s dinner, which included turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, gravy, banana pudding and pumpkin rolls. It took her about all day to prepare, which she said was a labor of love.
Melba herself graduated from the drug court program in 2011 and has maintained her sobriety alongside her husband, Zach, ever since. Melba said she enjoys being a role model for other women currently in the program.
“I was charged with five felonies and convicted of two of them. I went through drug court and it changed my life,” she said. “For me, to be able to tell these girls, ‘If I can do it, you can do it,’ that’s important to me.”
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