For more than a decade, addiction controlled Jenna Langford’s life. She hadn’t held a steady job in years and found herself in a cycle of heroin and methamphetamine use — stealing, lying and manipulating just to get by.
In 2022, following an incident that led to her being taken into custody by the Hilliard Police Department, Jenna was presented with an alternative to incarceration through voluntary participation in the Hilliard Recovery Court program.
“I had never been to treatment before or thought about going, so when they offered this court program, I definitely gave them a hard time,” Jenna said. “I was so scared to go and leave everything behind.”
Since 2019, Hilliard Recovery Court has been offering an alternative to jail time for individuals with substance use disorders by diverting them into a structured treatment and recovery process.
The day Jenna was scheduled to begin treatment marked a turning point in her life. Before departing with the treatment team, she used heroine one final time, an act that led to what she described as a near-death experience, collapsing unconscious on her kitchen floor.
“I don’t know what brought me back but when I woke up, I knew I really messed up,” she said. “Fear struck me in that moment like a living and breathing thing, so I got myself up and took myself to treatment.”
A Human-Centered Path to Recovery
The recovery court works with high-risk, high-need defendants, diverting them from potential jail time into a closely supervised treatment program aimed at long-term recovery. The Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Board of Franklin County (ADAMH) supports the recovery court with an annual grant.
The grant helps fund the court’s part-time program coordinator position, the magistrate, drug tests, ankle monitors that continuously monitor alcohol consumption and more. Grant money is also used to help pay off participants’ deductibles leftover from their treatment providers.
“If a participant is doing well in their program, we will negotiate with their provider and help pay off the rest of their treatment,” said Dawn Steele, Hilliard city prosecutor. “That’s always been one of the big things that ADAMH helps with, because that financial burden is sometimes just one more thing hanging over individuals’ heads.”
Most participants spend up to two years in recovery court, engaging with a treatment team that supports them in building long-term financial stability, securing housing, developing positive community connections and strengthening recovery support networks. The program is structured into five phases, each emphasizing a key area of growth: honesty, clinical stability, pro-social engagement, connection and sustaining progress after completion.
“We have certain minimum time requirements people need to spend in a phase, which changes as they go through the program,” said Stacey Pratt, program co-coordinator. “Participants spend less required time in the later phases, which gives them the opportunity to have a little more freedom to figure things out on their own, while still having that piece of accountability.”
The recovery court team prides itself in creating a court experience grounded in dignity, respect and compassion for every participant. Weekly court sessions serve as treatment check-ins, providing opportunities for individuals to engage with one another, connect with the treatment team and hear from guest speakers who share valuable insights and strategies for improving their lives.
“Everyone on this team has a personal philosophy that we’re more than the decisions that we’ve made,” Stacey said. “Treating someone from the get-go with respect they might never have experienced coming from someone on the other side of the table speaks volumes. I think our participants see the difference in our interactions and know we care and want to see them succeed.”
From Participant to Provider
To Jenna, recovery court saved her life.
“I had a phenomenal experience,” she said. “I never missed court or group meetings, and I never failed a drug screen. I never thought about quitting, and the recovery court team supported me through anything I wanted to do.”
Since graduating from the program in summer 2024, Jenna has become a certified counselor to individuals with substance use disorders. She is also attending classes at Columbus State University to become an independently licensed counselor with the hopes of one day becoming a mental health and substance abuse counselor in private practice, or a clinical director.
“I live a beautiful life today, I really do,” Jenna said. “The program taught me how to be committed to something, and it taught me how to care about something other than myself.”
For others on a similar journey, Jenna shared that simply being open and willing can be a meaningful place to start.
“They need to go into this program not resistant, but asking for help,” she said. “This program is going to end up being the antidote they need.”