Press Release  Taunton Drug Court hosts second annual graduation

Boston — The Taunton Drug Court held its second annual graduation where four participants—three men and a woman all in their 20’s—graduated and the first “John Munise III Excellence Award,” named posthumously in honor of Taunton Police Sergeant John Munise, was presented at Taunton District Court. The graduation was held Wednesday, November 13. Each of the graduates received a certificate of completion, a challenge coin, and a plant they were asked to care for and send a photo of its growth a year from now to symbolize their journey and recovery.

Drug Court Committee member Munise passed away last year following a battle with cancer. The recipient of the award is Nate Daniels, a community volunteer and member of the Drug Court Team. Daniels lost his best friend to an overdose.

Munise, according to Taunton District Probation Officer Jennifer Anderson, was the graduates’ “biggest supporter.” Anderson said it was Munise’s belief in and support of one graduate that fueled the probationer’s success.

“He was his biggest supporter and most likely the reason he ended up being accepted to Drug Court. Officer Munise had a long history with the probationer and his family. He had quite a bit of police involvement throughout his life. Officer Munise knew deep down he (probationer) was a good person and saw that he was done with that lifestyle. He ended up being right. The probationer went through Drug Court without a single violation and ended up terminating his probation early,” Anderson said.

Taunton District Court Chief Probation Officer Kelly A. Hamilton-Welzel attributed the success of the Drug Court to collaboration and communication.

“We have a great balance on our team as it includes not only probation, the judge and the attorneys, but also the Bristol County Community Corrections Center staff, local providers, local law enforcement and volunteers from the community who truly care about the outcomes for our participants. We always work together to reach a solution, even outside of the regular work day,” Chief Hamilton-Welzel said.

Hamilton-Welzel added, “Decisions regarding participants in trouble are never put on hold until ‘tomorrow morning’ or ‘Monday morning’ because we all know that a rapid response could be the difference between life and death. There have been many occasions when a team member has responded in person to resolve an issue or provide assistance during the evening or a weekend. When something happens, everyone on the team is alerted and discussion begins. Technology has afforded us a tremendous edge in this regard.”

Here is the team from the left:  Nate Daniels-Community Volunteer and 1st recipient of the John E. Munise, III Award for Outstanding Service to the Taunton Drug Court, Probation Officer Jake Cole, Emily S.-graduate, Chief Probation Officer Kelly Hamilton-Welzlel, Nathan L. - graduate, Judge Mathers - Presiding Justice of the Taunton Drug Court, Officer Peter Corr - Taunton Police Department, Dennis A. - graduate, Sandra Ferreira - Defense Counsel, Lisa Luongo - Defense Counsel, Taunton District Court Probation Officer Jennifer Anderson

Not present in the photo:  Joan Crimmins - Drug Court Clinician, Marie Burke - Specialty Court Coordinator, John G. - graduate

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