It was an emotional day in the Effingham County Government Center during this year’s Problem Solving Court graduation, which saw four graduates complete the program.
Problem Solving Court is a program by the Illinois Supreme Court and state statute that relies on collaboration and community support. A trained team of certified professionals carry out the requirements of the statutes and standards set by the Illinois Supreme Court.
By having Adam Tieffel, Daniel Barger, Nicole Rehkemper and Tammy Williams complete Problem Solving Court instead of serving jail time, $663,000 in taxpayer funds was saved, according to officials.
Tieffel, Barger, Rehkemper and Williams work in the Effingham community, complete public service work and volunteer hours, attend recovery meetings and benefit from multiple programs, such as the county board that provides financial support and the Strategic Training and Restoration (STAR) Board.
These programs provide participants with basic necessities that if they didn’t have immediate access to, they’d fall back to where they started.
Each of the four graduates received a certificate of completion and a copy of their booking picture, on which they wrote “not today” on the back.
Barger is 20 months clean and sober from meth, marijuana and alcohol. He was inspired by his daughter’s confidence in his recovery, and it made him reflect on all the times he wasn’t home.
“I talk to my kids more … To have the relationship that I do have is just genuine,” said Barger. “It’s improved. The quality of it has improved dramatically.”
Each graduate had a bouquet of flowers to give to someone they believe was the most influential in their lives during their path to recovery. Barger chose to give his to his daughter for her “unwavering confidence.”
Rehkemper is two years clean and sober from alcohol and marijuana. She used to drink and smoke all day, every day, and even attempted to take her own life.
“Before, I would stay in bed and just drink and get as far away from reality as I could,” said Rehkemper. “I wouldn’t do anything around the house. I would sleep. I wouldn’t do any self-care from even showering to brushing my teeth.”
“She has went from denial and wrongdoing to clear, heartfelt remorse, and full and total accountability. This doesn’t happen overnight,” said Effingham County Probation Officer Chris Winters. “This is very intense work, to be willing to look fully at yourself in the mirror and recognize that you no longer want that version of yourself. That is yet another example of the tasks she and the other graduates have to undertake to get and stay clean and sober.”
Tieffel is 29 months clean and sober from alcohol and other drugs. When he entered Problem Solving Court, he had been in jail for 10 months. He gave his bouquet of flowers to his mother.
Tieffel has been employed for a year, has rapidly advanced, managed increased responsibilities easily, and Winters has heard only high praise for his work ethic and problem-solving abilities on the job.
“I think because of the time he spent in jail, he was through all of the justifications and rationalizations, and simply took responsibility and made the necessary changes,” said Winters.
Williams is 22 months clean and sober from meth and marijuana.
“You try and figure out how you’re gonna get money to get that fix, and then once you get the money, then it’s a rat race trying to find it,” said Williams. “It’s just every day, same thing.”
Winters attributes at least some of her ability to immediately quit drugs to Williams’ stubbornness.
“If I said it was going to be difficult, she was going to prove that it wasn’t. I’m not saying she didn’t struggle. I’m not saying it was easy,” said Winters. “I’m saying that she threw everything she had into doing what she needed to do to get better. She grew in ways that are too numerous to count.”
During Williams’ recovery, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Williams said she was grateful to have been clean and sober during that time because that gave her the ability and desire to get checkups, causing it to be caught early.
“She said, that with absolute conviction, that if this had happened while she was still using, she would’ve never went to the doctor or sought treatment. In the face of a life-threatening diagnosis, she responded with gratitude,” said Winters. “That, ladies and gentlemen, is the magic of recovery.”