WAILUKU, Hawaiʻi — Five graduates crossed the finish line of Maui Drug Court with their final appearance before the Honorable Kelsey T. Kawano on May 18, 2023.

The combination hearing and graduation ceremony was well attended by family and friends, employers, counselors, and current participants. The special guest speaker came from the Big Island to share her own challenges of a life of recovery after graduating from Maui Drug Court in 2018. She encouraged the graduates to do the recovery activities that got them to the finish line.

The graduates offered heartfelt stories — their unique realities of addictions, homelessness, criminal behaviors, relationship losses, unexpected connections to Drug Court, and their changed lives — lives of recovery.

For one graduate, his journey in Drug Court came to a standstill, and he seriously thought about quitting. But Judge Kawano, his attorney, and the Drug Court team urged him to stick with it. He did so by overcoming what he perceived to be an impossible challenge — his lack of education.

Today he is graduate of Drug Court, a father of two and partner to their mother, working in a job he loves, and has big dreams with a drug-free life.

With the 82nd graduation event, Maui Drug Court has celebrated the achievements of 713 graduates. Molokaʻi Drug Court has 40 graduates. While not everyone makes it, since 2000 the Maui/Molokaʻi Drug Court has offered the opportunity for 1,480 individuals to cross the finish line with recovery.