Special Bd. of Aldermen — 02/27/2017 Page 6
chose not to. | am very capable of doing all the good things that | can do for myself and my life. | have my
family in my life. | have one of my sons living with me that | never really had a chance to raise him as a child
because of drugs. But! have him with me today. Drug Court taught me how to live without the use of drugs
and how to change behaviors without getting defensive and admitting and being honest. And he is right, being
honest is really a huge part of drug court because if you can’t be honest with yourself and people around you
then what is the point? Being honest wasn’t part of my journey growing up. | was always manipulating, lying,
stealing, whatever | had to do to get what | had to get. Being honest was really a huge part of that program.
| had a few incentives but! got in trouble one time because for the first six months, | was still drinking alcohol
but wasn't really noticing that | was doing it. It was a normal thing. | never had a dirty urine for drugs, | never
relapsed, but | never stopped drinking either. When | finally got caught, my urine came back once with alcohol,
that’s when the actual lightbulb went off in my head that | can’t drink. What am | doing to myself? That will get
me caught back up into other things that | don’t want to be caught back up into. That’s when | really truly
started really working and changing my life. | had to go to Valley Street for that one night and | said this is not
where | want to be anymore. | just felt like a total loser when that happened to me. | just felt so humiliated. |
don’t have to feel like that anymore. | really started really truly working that program, and it has given me such
a life today that | could never see myself getting arrested or going to jail.
| have associated with the police department. | have respect for them today. They respect me today. That
feels really good. | could drive down the street in my car, and | don’t’ have to feel paranoid if there’s a cop
behind me. If there’s a cop behind me, I’m out there waving at him because that’s who | am today. | am a
good person. I’ve gotten to know who | am and what | like and what | can do. | have a good job. | work with
TruGreen. | have good benefits. | have a good life today. | do a lot of sponsoring other women in recovery. |
also work with one of the women in the drug court. | try to mentor and | stay participating in the drug court
even though | graduated. | will do whatever | can to be there for them. They just totally changed my life
tremendously.
My life is good today. That’s pretty much it. Stick with the Drug Court. It’s worth it.
Alderman Wilshire
| just want to say thank you, Tina. I’ve known Tina her whole life and right now, today, | am very proud of you.
Ms. Gilmour
Thank you for inviting us in to share what the Drug Court is about. It happens here in Nashua every Tuesday.
| think it would be a great field trip to come and see the power. Believe me, you do not want to go before
Judge Colburn every week. In fact when | got here a little early, Tina was already here. | said you’re early.
She said, | learned that from Judge Colburn. Just a heads up, we are going to ask for CDBG funds next year.
This is just a preamble to that ask so be thinking about that and certainly will entertain any questions you have.
Alderwoman Melizzi-Golja
Thank you, and Tina, thank you and congratulations. Judge Colburn was here maybe a year after the Drug
Court started. She came and presented. At that time, she spoke about the incentives and people wanting to
make donations. Could you maybe share with us for people who are listening who would like to make a
monetary donation or a gift cards, how they would go about doing that?
Julie Christiansen
| am at the Court House. You can contact me through the court house for gift cards and things like that.
Friends of New Hampshire Drug Court is a 501(cc)(3) organization throughout the State of New Hampshire.
They have a website. They accept monetary donations that go to fund drug court programming that is non-
