Graduation Night - at the courthouse

Tonight was the fifth graduation ceremony of McHenry County's Mental Health Court. The program, which started in April 2007 is one of 18 mental health courts in Illinois. All the other counties had a drug specialty court at the time they started their mental health courts; here in McHenry County, we started with the mental health court, and soon we'll have a drug court up and running.

On the cover of the bulletin for tonight's ceremony were these words, "When one person rises out of mental illness and crime, WE ALL RISE!"

Each of the six graduates was presented with a Certificate of Completion and a special coin to carry as a reminder of their personal success in the program.

There is a team effort to help those who enter the Mental Health Court program to succeed. Team members are Judge Weech, the 22nd Judicial Circuit Court, the State's Attorney's Office, the Public Defender's Office, the McHenry County Sheriff's Department, McHenry County Court Services, the Health Department, the Mental Health Board, the County Board, Family Service and Community Mental Health Center, and Pioneer Center for Human Services.

There are 28 active participants in the Mental Health Court program at this time, including 16 who have at least one criminal felony charge. To date, 31 have successfully completed the program and, of those 31, only 3 have re-offended.

One of the graduates praised the WRAP program, which is the Wellness Recovery Action Plan program. In his WRAP, each person prepares his own plan, which includes ways to recognize when things are "starting to go south", how to get help, whom to call (and whom not to call).

Another graduate said, "If you're in the WRAP program and you don't want to go, that's when you need to go." What a wise statement!

Another graduate mentioned that tomorrow morning he leaves on a mission of service in Montana.

The Mental Health Court team is dedicated to assisting persons in the program with their recovery and rehabilitation. For more information, visit www.co.mchenry.il.us/departments/courtadmin/Pages/MHealthCourtHome.aspx