Recovering Hope

Earlier this summer, I received an email from Chris Deutsch, the Communications Director of the National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP). Chris said he had become familiar with the work of Justice Forward and wanted to feature our relationship with the STAR Drug Court in a documentary to be shown at the national conference in Nashville. I agreed without hesitation and began meeting with their producer Renee Rosenfeld along with Keith Liles, program director for the drug courts, to sketch out how to portray our work on film. 

Recovering Hope is the result of many meetings and multiple days of filming. It is a 12-minute documentary-style film that tracks Keith, STAR Court graduate Katie E., and I as we prepare to attend a graduation. Also featured are some of our community partners like H-E-B; Recenter, a sober housing facility; and Treebeards, a local restaurant.

Of course we had to attend the NADCP RISE 2022 conference to see the film aired and to network on a national level, so Board Chair Deborah Keyser, Board Member Mary Covington and I headed to Nashville at the end of July. There were over 8,000 people from all over the country in attendance. Everyone there had some involvement with Specialty Courts, as either a judge, prosecutor, defense attorney, treatment provider, probation officer or program graduate. Each session time slot had 28 programs to choose from, so picking which presentation to attend was a challenge. We came away with some great ideas for Justice Forward and for the courts we support. I personally am energized by hearing the success stories of these programs and of their amazing graduates.

“Our” documentary was aired in four parts, each segment representing one of the four pillars of recovery capital: Home, Health, Community and Purpose. These are the main elements that a person with substance use disorder must have in their lives for long-term success and sobriety. Renee and her team did an excellent job of portraying our work at Justice Forward and how we help provide recovery capital to the Specialty Court clients and graduates.

Recovering Hope will be posted on our website and social media pages in the coming weeks, so keep an eye out for it. I promise it will make you proud to be a Houstonian.