Centola Graduation
-Joseph Prezioso
Rain trickled on the windows of the court room as people from all over the city gathered in the damp court room at the Charlestown Municipal court room on this past Wednesday Dec. 2. The room was filled with members of the judicial system, local elected officials, friends and family members of the soon to be graduated Candice Centola who had finished her time in the drug court program and would be off of probation by the courts adjournment, but not before everyone she knew had a chance to speak and honor her commitment for what she has achieved.
In the court room, Honorable Judge Lawrence E. McCormick invited those that she had worked with and those who were involved with her treatment to speak. As they spoke Centola sat and cried a number of times, but they were tears of joy and not sadness.
“When she started here the court had faith in her. I didn’t think she had faith in herself when she got here, but I know when she walks out the door she has faith now,” said Judge McCormick. “I have respect for Mrs. Centola.”
“As judges we typically see tears of sadness in the court room, but today we celebrate the graduation of Ms. Centola and here in the courtroom I see joy because of her struggle, because of her commitment and her dedication to her sobriety she has achieved success,” said Chief Justice of the Boston Municipal Court Dept. Roberto Ronquillo Jr. “Today we celebrate her success as a community, as a court, as a system where we see an individual who has given up her part, has taken the opportunity given to her through the court and the care providers to get to the point of sobriety to the point where she can be an inspiration and a help to others.”
There were plenty of tears this day in court too. Centola and her sister both cried as did Joyce Hogan, secretary at the Valentine House for Women, who was on the stand in tears to speak about her admiration for Centola. “This is a person I had to ask to leave the Valentine House, and now I have the utmost respect for her to have me here today,” said Hogan. A relapse caused Centola to be evicted from the all sober Valentine House.
Centola had been a drug addict since age 14 and been on heroine for the past 15 years. Running, using with her sister up until 2011, she had been in and out of jail countless times and she was not happy with her life. “We ran together, for a long time, and when I say ran together, you wouldn’t believe the houses, it was sort of a animalistic sort of way,” said Candice Centola. “It wasn’t nice.” Then about three years ago she found herself in lock up again, but this time around she had a new option, Drug Court. She took it.
“Well, you know honestly.....It was actually desperation. I was desperate. I had no other way. I was just, nothing else worked for me, you know, and jail, I could adapt. It was, I guess just easy and, I didn’t want to live like that anymore. Deep down I always wanted to get clean, and when he offered it to me (Stephen Deluca, probation officer) at that point, I took it,” said Centola.
“Its difficult for the courts, its difficult for the participants, this is not easy!” said Judge McCormick.
It wasn’t and easy or simple path to becoming clean and sober for Centola either. The 18 month program lasted a lot longer for her, almost three years. “I relapsed four months after my father passed away, my mother passed away seven months before and then my dad passed away right after. At four months after my dad passed away I was, I noticed it because I started isolating and just not....the behavior, the signs were showing, the anger and stuff like that. I wasn’t asking for help or really going to as many meetings as I should have been and I wasn’t letting anybody in. I relapsed. After about a month I came down, came back and turned myself in,” said Centola. From there she went on to finish and graduate the program.
Present in the court room were other participants in the program, some she had used with and others she barley knew, but all congratulated her.
“You all don’t understand the magnitude of the transformation she made,” said Drug Court participant David Matson. Other participants said she was an example to them and an inspiration and they wanted what she now has. As Centola knows, its not easy. Prior to her graduation Judge McCormick imposed daily urine testing on another participant who might be slipping in the program and they wanted to get him back on track or it was back to jail and failure from the program. The man was trying to balance work and the program, but Judge McCormick blankly told the man this program must come first, not work.
“Its not an obligatory program. It is very difficult because there is high accountability before a judge, but by completing those difficulty steps, we have seen many successes,” said Chief justice of the Boston Municipal Court Dept. Roberto Ronquillo Jr.
Addicts have to want the to change for the program to work, otherwise they relapse according to the court. “When she first agreed to drug court I had mixed emotions. Part of me was relieved, the other part was worried she would give up. As time went on and I started to see the dedication and the desire to live clean and sober I knew she would graduate,” said Shannon Lundin, Community Outreach Coordinator at MGH/CSAC.
Centola’s sister Lisa also had doubts when her sister joined the program. “I was, I was nervous, because I knew drug court was tough,” said Lisa Centola. “We used together, and I looked at drug court, to me I looked at it back then in that mind set as a set up. So watching her it proved to me, that although taking the time is the easy way out she chose the difficult path and she did well. So drug courts works.”
“The reality is that if we incarcerate people who are addicts, addicted to substances, ultimately they go to jail, they come and out. Unless it is being treated, nothing changes. So this opportunity, drug court, and other specialty courts is an opportunity for us as a justice system to coordinate with other agencies to provide the services to the people who we see on a daily basis to get to the root to whatever it is that brought them before the court. Its a very different approach that seems to be working and for evert one person we keep out of jail and get productive is a success,” said Chief Justice Ronquillo Jr.
After her relapse and getting back in the program, Centola had daily drug test that eventually went down to a few times a week till none. She attended a intensive outpatient program and moved in with her sober and clean sister. Now she is graduating and wanting to move on with her life.
“I don’t want to put any expectations on me, as I have done that in the past and my expectations were way to high and I couldn’t meet that and became overwhelmed and ended up back sliding a bit and thats not safe,” said Centola. “I won’t set exceptions, however, I go to a relapse prevention group and I go to a meeting every day.” Centola is looking forward to moving into an apartment and getting a stable home life so that she can get a job and support herself.
“A lot of people have given a lot to her and she is able to give back to those around her by giving the support she received to others and I hope and expect that she’ll be a success in every endeavor of her life now that she has this head start. We expect big things from her,” said Chief Justice Ronquillo Jr.
The court does not want her to disappear and told her she is welcome to come back anytime for help if she needs it. They want her back on her own will and not coming in with the police.
The informal court hearing ended with Centola receiving a citation from State. Rep Dan Ryan and the court relieving her of her probation. She is now free, clean and sober.