Media Advisory / Photo Opportunity - November 3, 1999
Office of the Commissioner of Probation

Media Advisory/Photo Opportunity

FORMER ADDICTS GRADUATE TO SOBRIETY WITH HELP FROM
ROXBURY PROBATION PROGRAM

A group of recovering addicts will celebrate their successful completion of the Intensive Treatment Unit (ITU), a one-year probation prgram for chronic substance abusers, during a special ceremony on Wednesday, November 3, at Roxbury District Court, 85 Warren Street, in Roxbury.

ITU graduates -- seven men and six women from the Roxbury area -- will be profiled at the ceremony, which will begin at 2 p.m. in the first session of Roxbury District Court. The event will feature congratulatory remarks from Commissioner of Probation John O'Brien; Honorable Milton L. Wright Jr., First Justice, Roxbury; Honorable R. Peter Anderson, First Justice, Brighton District Court; and Honorable Robert P. Ziemian, First Justice, South Boston District Court. State Representative Gloria Fox will also be on hand to present citations to graduates.

"This program really helped me to get my life back. It taught me how to deal with my problems sober and to live a sober life. In the past, every time I got stressed out, I'd get high. Life is so much better now," said Merita Lyons, a 41-year-old Roxbury resident who has battled crack cocaine addiction for five years.

The Intensive Treatment Unit, which draws on the resources of the Massachusetts Probation Service and the Office of Community Corrections, integrates drug testing, referral to appropriate treatment, judicial review and sanctions.

The Massachusetts Probation Service is a department of the Massachusetts Trial Court. There are 12 Superior Court, 70 District Court, and 12 Probate and Family Court probation offices throughout the Commonwealth. Probation's Juvenile Court system includes 11 divisions which represent every county in the state. The Office of the Commissioner of Probation (OCP) serves as the central administrative office for the state Probation service.