On February 28th, Court Coordinator Gwen Williams joined our latest webinar to share her Reconnect journey. Ms. Gwen discussed the challenges faced by Louisiana’s 10th Judicial District Court’s Adult Drug Court, shared part of her own powerful story, and why she uses Reconnect’s tools to assist her participants on their path to recovery.
During the webinar, Ms. Gwen chronicled her experiences working in law enforcement and her own brush with substance use that led to her 2017 arrest. It was during that “rock bottom” period in her life that she found her way into the Adult Drug Court as a participant. Five years later, Ms. Gwen celebrates almost half a decade of sobriety, a renewed relationship with herself and God, and restored relationships with her children. As the coordinator of the program she credits with helping her accomplish all that, she is always looking for ways to help others find their own path to recovery.
“The loss of self-respect and love for oneself is the greatest price that we pay in addiction and if I can change one person and make them realize how valuable they are and that they are not a mistake, they are not worthless, they are valuable in this world, if I can make one person see that, then my job is done.”
In the webinar, Ms. Gwen notes that she used Reconnect throughout the pandemic to support participants, especially as staff resources dwindled.
“My goal is to use everything that the program offers—everything the app offers.”
Ms. Gwen uses Reconnect to manage drug screening, digital curfews, communication and participant contact, location monitoring, reminders for program-related events, and more.
“Every day, seven days a week, they have to check-in [to the app for drug test randomization] so it makes them responsible and makes them reach out and connect with the program. Even if it is just an app, it’s an extension of our program so they get to interact with our program every morning. Even when they’re not going to see me if it’s going to be the weekend and they’re not going to see anybody in the program, at least they’ve interacted with the program through the app. You know those two things, [Randomization and Curfew Checks,] are probably the backbone of what I needed [Reconnect] for and they have really surpassed all my expectations.”
Reconnect is designed to help case managers do more with less. We know that clear and continual communication, individualized support, reduction of administrative burdens, and reminders and routines are all critical in the lives of people working towards recovery.
“I don’t see how I did it before without [Reconnect].”
Assisting programs as they guide and support participants through recovery is why Reconnect built our platform. Thank you, Ms. Gwen, for sharing your story; it is an honor and a privilege to assist you as you change people’s lives.