Special Bd. of Aldermen — 02/27/2017 Page 5
and the recovery community. The board recently funded a one year at Rivive Recovery for a recovery coach
coordinator to train other recovery coaches. | know there are several drug court participants who are
interested in being training and becoming a recovery coach for other people who are struggling. Hopefully
those folks who are not at the level where they need drug court supervision at this point but hopefully can get
the resources they need within the community and get over their addiction before it gets to the point of drug
court.
Now | am going to introduce Tina Smart to talk a little bit about her experience in drug court and the impact it
has had on her. | do have some brochures and materials that | will pass around for folks to look at.
Tina Smart
Pretty much since 1984 is when | first started getting into trouble. | was experimenting with drugs, alcohol,
hanging around the wrong people. | just didn’t have any direction in my life. | just continuously did the same
thing over and over and over until | started getting into more serious trouble and growing up and started selling
drugs, using drugs. Even when | was pregnant with my first son, | used drugs. | was just a mess growing up, |
really was. | felt lost like | didn’t fit in anywhere. | wasn’t really part of my family because | chose not to be. |
felt like an outsider everywhere. | just kind of went wherever | went and the more | did things, the worse | put
myself into situations. | started going into prisons back in 87. | think it was back in 87 when | was pregnant
with my first son, | had my first felony. | got a one year and day to four in Goffstown State Prison. Because |
was locked up for a little while, | got clean and everything but when | came out | still had all of the same
behaviors and the same everything. When | got out | stayed clean for a little while, but | went right back into
the same thing. It was the only thing | knew. That continued pretty much my whole life.
| was doing the same thing over and over and over. Then at points | would actually look forward to going into
prison so | could recuperate my body, my mind and get more strength so | could get out and go do the same
thing all over again because that’s all | knew. This last time, in 2015, | got arrested again. That was like my
third strike in New Hampshire, to be honest, but | have many other cases in others — Mass, Florida, every
where | went! got arrested. | had three warrants when | got arrested in New Hampshire in 2015. Because of
drugs, | wasn’t able to show up because | had to go get so | wouldn't be sick.
When | got arrested in 2015, again | was looking at going to prison and for some reason something inside of
me this time | was tired. | was really tired of the way | lived my life, 35 years out there running the streets like
crazy trying to get clean a little bit here, a little bit there but | never really understood it or knew how to stay
clean and how to change because | only knew one way. When | was offered the drug court program, | really
didn’t know what | was getting myself into but | said something has to give here. Something. That’s when |
accepted the drug court. On June 10, 2015, | was sentenced. | will still lost and confused but | said | was
going to do what | got to do. At least if | don’t do anything, |’ll make it through because when | start something |
manage to make it through one way or the other.
The first six months of drug court | was unsure, | didn’t? know. | noticed behaviors in me that were being
pointed out to me from one of the case workers that | was working with, Leslie. She is a tremendous woman.
She pointed things out in me that | would get defensive. | would just get really defensive right away because
those my behaviors and | didn’t want to face them, but she helped me face things that | needed to face. Being
defensive, my body movement and everything, would really show that | needed to change the way | was acting
and feeling and not be afraid to start learning how to truly live a different life because | really truly didn’t know
how. | started listening and paying attention and started participating not just to get through the program
anymore, | really wanted to change my life. At one point, | said get through it; it’s better than going to jail but
then my attitude changed that | don’t have it in me to be in jail anymore. | just don’t. | did what | had to do to
change my behavior.
Today my life, I’m a little emotional right now, | have almost three years clean and | have gone through
schooling. | have a good job today. | had been living on SSI since 2005. I’m not on SSI anymore because |
