KAILUA-KONA — The Big Island Veterans Treatment Court had its first graduate Monday.
Paris Marques, a veteran of six years in the Navy, was in the program for one year, with weekly court visits, intensive probation checks, regular drug tests and an extensive list of rules.
“It was like he was in the military again,” said Keona Paahuli, his girlfriend of six years.
The stringent rules were a major assistance, she said, helping keep him sober and active.
Marques entered through a third-degree assault charge, a misdemeanor.
The veterans treatment court is a specialized drug court. Drug courts allow people to go through an intensive probation period, instead of a longer term with fewer restrictions.
They operate as a team effort. The BIVTC includes the prosecutor’s office, police department, veterans’ agencies and judiciary for each person.
“I thought I had the control of the drugs,” Marques said to the crowd, “but they had control of me.”
There are six other vets, three on each side of the island, in the program. The plan is to expand to 24 people.
Police Chief Harry Kubojiri said Marques was successful because of “your undying commitment and faith in yourself.”
Paahuli was referred to as an anchor multiple times, helping keep Marques in place.
“He was able to set the standard high with a near perfect record,” probation officer Alika Querubin said.
That standard carries through for everyone, he said.
Marques relapsed once in the year, but Querubin said that proved Marques’ integrity. He called his counselor, discussed the relapse, then called Querubin to admit it.
He could have kept it secret and no one would ever have known, Querubin said, as the next drug test came back clean.
Part of his success has been through regular sober support meetings. He also continues to participate in treatment at the Veteran’s Center.
To graduate, the person has to pay off all fines, have stable housing, complete any probation requirements and get a full-time job.
The housing was simple, as Marques and Paahuli are living in a three-bedroom home in Pahala left to him when his father died last year. He had been the primary caregiver for his father for years.
Employment was more difficult, and was a concern for his probation officer. Yes, Marques was working at seasonal and temporary positions, but that leaves idle time, which can lead to trouble, he said.
Despite the difficulties of finding full-time work, Marques earned a position through a mixture of effort, luck and family connections when he landed a job at Royal Hawaiian Orchards where he’s running a mechanical picker, working seven days on, seven days off, alternating with the hand pickers.
He looks forward to going to work, he said, even with the extended schedule for harvest season.
Marques said he will sort of miss all the people who were involved in the program. But he also knows they are available. He’s also continuing counseling and hoping to help other veterans as a mentor or sponsor.
“I’m just humbled more than anything,” he told West Hawaii Today.
Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald was present and told West Hawaii Today there were three major reasons why he suggested that Chief Circuit Judge Ronald Ibarra look into the program. At this point, the program on Oahu had been going for some time. He said he thought it was a good idea to have similar programs on the neighbor islands.
First, it recognizes people that we, as a society, have a debt to, he said. Second, it helps veterans within the criminal justice program get access to services they may be unaware of. And it has a very positive outcome.
A White House survey found that drug court participants have a 16 percent rearrest rate in the first year, 27.5 percent within two years. But of people not involved, nearly 68 percent are rearrested within three years.
“I feel it’s our obligation to help them transition back into the community,” Ibarra said. He is a veteran of the Army and Army Reserves. The veteran mentors are a big part of the program, he said, helping the treatment done by counselors.
These are fellow veterans who go through a course on mentoring and agree to meet with people in the program.
One mentor is Roger Pickard, a former captain in the Air Force, one of the four on the Kona side of the island. The Hilo side has one.
“We all feel like we’re brothers and sisters,” he said, regardless of branch or time of service.