Four Drug Court Graduates Receive Second Chance At Life

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI)- In life, receiving a second chance can make all the difference, just ask Leonardo Dismukes.

“We do all we can to save lives and we’re excited about the work,” said Dismukes, Drug Court Coordinator for Columbus Municipal Drug Court.

Dismukes said addicted to drugs can sometimes be an easy thing to do, however, breaking that cycle can be difficult.

“It’s more than just a physical problem, it’s psychological as well,” said Dusmukes. “It’s behaviors, habits.”

For years Dismukes was hooked on both drugs and alcohol.

“I was a cocaine addict, I was an alcohol addict,” said Dismukes. “It got really bad, I was homeless and I was missing for over a year.

The Columbus man said he was in a dark place during that time, but he always knew he wanted better for himself, so he sought treatment to help turn things around.

“I’m a recipient of a praying mother and I got that support and those prayers and got saved,” Dismukes expressed.

Decades later, Dismukes is still a clean man and is now on a mission to help others who’ve gone down similar same paths as he has.

“I’m here to try and help them by my testimony and pointing them to my higher power which is Jesus Christ,” he said.

Dismukes has been the Drug Court Coordinator for seven years and takes pride in helping others break their addiction and giving them a new perspective on life.

“We’re passionate about it,” Dismukes described. “There are a few of us that work with this program that are in recovery ourselves, so with that being the case, there is a certain perspective that you have. ”

On Monday Dismukes and his staff witnessed four individuals graduate from its drug court program.

The Drug Court Coordinator said the four men came into the program in a dark place and addicted to drugs.

However, thanks to the help of an intensive drug program along with the hard work and dedication from the graduates, the group of men are being given a second chance and a new outlook on life.

“It was just awesome and I get enjoy when I see them put the work in,” he said. “It’s kind of like when you see that light go off. At first they’re rebellious, they’re fighting against you, they want to make excuses and things like that, and try to fool you and lie to you, then after they get to a certain point they realize that’s not going to benefit them.”

Each graduate made vow to stay clean and take advantage of this second chance.

Judge Jim Kitchens was the keynote speaker during Monday’s graduation.

Although the four men have graduated, they still have to check in once a month just to make sure they’re still staying on the right track.