GOOOOOOOOOOAL!!!!!!!

 Wow! Justice Forward’s 2024 fundraising luncheon, The Path Forward was a record-setting event for our organization. Thanks to our supporters, we surpassed our goal of $200,000! This will help us help so many clients and graduates of the Specialty courts we support.

We held our event at the beautiful River Oaks Country Club and honored Rusty Hardin and H-E-B, two local champions of Justice Forward. H-E-B has funded many programs for our clients including grief and trauma counseling for our juvenile participants, incentive gift cards for our adults and has even helped us fund an evaluation process for our programs.

Board member Martha Araujo-Barrera accepted the award on behalf of H-E-B and shared a funny story about Rusty. She said whenever something bad happens to her or her friends, they say “Screw you, Rusty!” a quote from Rusty’s famous cross-examination of Anna Nicole Smith.

Rusty was gracious in the acceptance of his award and advocated for the work Justice Forward does and its importance in our community. Over the years, he has been a generous supporter and has opened many doors for us which has led to great contacts and several donations.

The heart of our program was a conversation with two Specialty Court graduates, Connie Taylor and Jannica Smith. They met in a court holdover cell while waiting to appear before a judge. Connie told Jannica about a program she had just agreed to participate in called STAR Drug Court. Both women were assigned to the STAR Drug Court docket that I had the honor of presiding over when I was a District Court judge. The day they appeared before me, Connie and Jannica began their recovery journeys and a deep friendship that has lasted sixteen years. They supported each other through terrible family tragedy and a mental health crisis. Since graduating from the program, both women trained to become Peer Recovery Specialists which they still are today. In this role, they help other women find the joy and serenity that comes from a life of recovery. At the luncheon, they recognized all the assistance they received from Justice Forward over the years including grief counseling, job training, and criminal history clean up.

Our last speaker was James White, another successful graduate from STAR Drug Court. He spoke of a traumatic childhood resulting in a substance use problem very early on. With the help of Justice Forward, he has a safe place to live, a clean criminal history and earns enough money to make a monthly recurring donation to Justice Forward to express his gratitude.

We love what we do at Justice Forward, but we cannot do it alone. Huge thanks to all who supported us at the luncheon and to the three courageous graduates who told their compelling stories of recovery and long-term success.