That was not the case in courtroom 4-B at the Minnehaha County Courthouse this afternoon, as four drug court participants celebrated their graduation.
"Told you I was going to smile a lot," graduate Geno Stark said.
It's something Geno Stark has been waiting to do for weeks... after going through a drug court he describes as "very difficult if you don't want it."
"You gotta actually try," Stark said. "And then they're willing to try with you. They're willing to help as long as you want the help, but you gotta want it."
Stark was one of four graduates today.
"I'd be sober for a day, it'd be 'yay,' that'd be like a miracle for me. After 17 years of using drugs, since I was about seven years old," Stark said.
"There have been times I felt that people have lost hope in me, but with my faith in the great spirit, with the guidance of the team, and with my self-confidence, I pushed through it," graduate Ellis Cournoyer said.
"When I first came in the drug court, i wanted things to be over, I wanted to move quickly, I wanted to have my life back, but I realized I had to trust the process to achieve some of these things that I wanted in life," graduate Thomas Thome said.
"To feel that misery and to fill that pain, or to continue to hurt my daughter, it's like, I don't want that no more," graduate Lacora Mexican said.
Chief Deputy Michelle Boyd says she wasn't sure if these smiles would come back.
"I don't know if we ever thought we'd see this big smile on your face when you first started, but it's very nice to see. You did an amazing job, and we're very proud of you. Congratulations," Chief Deputy Michelle Boyd with the Minnehaha County Sheriff's Office said.
"This is my longest sobriety, but you know, I'm doing it, and you can too, let's just stick with that," Stark said.
Including these latest four graduates, in total 62 people have graduated from this drug court. Right now, there are 49 people going through the program.
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