Drug Court in the News
View the video of the recent KHOU/Channel 11 News story(March 2008) about the Texas criminal justice system. It features an interview with a drug court graduate, Kathryn Griffin, who spoke at Emerson during the formative stage of the HCDC Foundation.

Drug Court Campaign Funded!
“…the Drug Court Foundation will have an executive director and pursue major funding for care of individuals trying to right their lives”, said Dr. Max Buja, Chairman of the Drug Court Foundation Board. The Foundation has met with Matthew Barnes, a grant officer from The Houston Endowment, and is working on a grant for a pilot study which will attempt to increase the scope of the Drug Courts. This is an exciting endeavor for the Foundation. Additionally, several major Denominations are being approached to widen the involvement of the faith based community.

Harris County Drug Court Foundation Executive Director Patricia Wight has been busy working with Interfaith Ministries to develop an accounting system, plan and implement a program for education, outreach and fundraising activities with many Houston congregations, and developed the various systems needed to run the foundation. She has spent considerable time learning about Drug Courts and the STAR program.

Many thanks to the sixty generous donors from Emerson contributed more than $39,000. Plus an anonymous donor matched for a total of $78,284. The names of all donors will be included on a wall-mounted plaque to be displayed at Emerson.

Drug Court: a Moral Imperative
Emerson's Drug Court Task Force received recognition in the following article published in the October 2003 edition of Mosaic, the newsletter of the Interfaith Ministries of Greater Houston.

The opening of two Drug Courts in Harris County is being celebrated at Emerson Unitarian Universalist Church. For more than a year, several members of the congregation have served as consultants and tireless advocates for an issue they feel extends beyond government responsibilities.

“The current drug policy is ravaging our community,” says Chairman of Emerson Unitarian Universalist Church’s Drug Court Task Force, Gabe Gelb. “The Drug Court is a more compassionate way to deal with non-violent drug offenders whose lives may be ruined by being sent to state jail.”

Gelb and fellow Emersonians responded to a Statement of Conscience passed by the National Unitarian Universalist Association in June of 2002 that called for alternatives to the war on drugs. Gelb says the Task Force Group’s objective is to save lives and save money by bridging the gap between the criminal justice system and therapeutic approaches to drug dependency.

“It costs the state $16,000 a year to care for an offender in state jail. It costs $1,600 a year to care for an offender going through the Drug Court,” says Gelb.

Drug Courts exist in many cities and offer non-violent drug offenders alternatives to the 6–24 month average jail time for drug offenses. Statistics suggest that drug offenders who are assessed jail time have a recidivism rate of more than 26%. Gelb says that drug offenders who go through Drug Courts have a recidivism rate of less than 4%. “We’re not only saving money we’re saving lives and protecting ourselves,” says Gelb. “This is like a free opportunity for people to get off drugs.”

The Drug Court offers a 12–18 month alternative to jail time which includes substance abuse treatment, drug testing, counseling and weekly progress reports. Participants may request the alternative treatment, but must satisfy criteria which include being of adult age, a U.S. citizen and having prior history of drug use and convictions. At full capacity, each Drug Court will assist 150 people. The estimated cost of operation is $1 million a year. The two Drug Courts in Harris County receive no funding, though the probation department, district attorney’s office and judges will lend some of their staff to the effort. Gelb says Emerson is investigating the possibility of establishing a non-profit (501 c3) organization to raise funds for the Drug Court. Such an organization would seat an interfaith board of directors. “Emerson people feel very strongly that it is completely natural for faith based organizations to get involved in this issue. This is a moral issue,” says Gelb.