GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — There’s a specialty court in Kent County for defendants struggling with substance abuse and battling moderate to severe mental health issues.
The goal of the court is to provide support and services for those people and reduce the amount of time spent in jail or prison.
There are key players that are working together to make this program a success.
Judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys and others are all part of a team helping people change their circumstances for the better.
The Treatment and Support Court, or TASC, wouldn’t be complete without Jeffery Carter, a peer recovery coach with quite the inspiring story.
Carter sits inside a courtroom of the Kent County 17th Circuit Court.
It’s a space he is familiar with because of his job as a peer recovery coach and a lifetime spent in and out of the prison system.
“That was a lifestyle I lived, right. Gangs, drugs and violence, incarcerations," Carter said.
Born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, Carter was influenced by the city's 24-hour party atmosphere at a young age.
“I would say about 12 or 13 is when I first started dabbling, dabbling with substances like marijuana and alcohol. By the time I was 18, it already progressed to cocaine and methamphetamine," Carter said.
It was around the age of 26 that he started to realize he may have a problem.
“When my mom moved back to Michigan, from Vegas in 2010, I was homeless, jobless, penniless, addicted to drugs, and I saw that as an out of Las Vegas. So, when she came to Michigan in 2010, I followed a year later to get away from it," Carter said.
Despite the move, Carter continued to struggle with substance abuse.
“My mom, I thought she was on her way to work and she walked in on me and I was so sick I shot up right in front of her," Carter said. “I watched her heart break, I watched the disappointment and right then and there, I told myself, Jeff, you need more help. You're done.”
It was two rehab stints later, including one at Guiding Light in Grand Rapids, that finally set Jeffery on the path of getting clean and sober.
He graduated from Grand Rapids Community College in April 2023 with an associate degree in pre social work.
He eventually got a job as a peer recovery coach for the Kent County 17th Circuit Court Treatment and Support Court.
“Jeff is an integral to our role. No one else at the table has lived his life and what he encountered, and he is a textbook of the people that we serve," said Teri Clark, TASC coordinator.
TASC is for defendants with mental health issues and substance abuse problem who have been charged and intend to plead guilty to a misdemeanor crime with a maximum penalty of a year in jail or a felony charge.
"If we can reduce their engagement in the criminal justice system, we certainly save dollars. And we tap into the dollars that are allocated for them in the mental health systems. We create a safer community," Clark said.
Jamaia Foster is a graduate of the program. She was facing five years in prison when she was offered the chance to avoid incarceration.
She found the nearly two-year program to be very challenging.
“I wanted to give up, I didn't want to, I didn't want to listen to the court system. I didn't want to listen to anything anybody wanted me to do. And I want to do what I wanted to do. But luckily for Jeff, I mean, for me, I met Jeff and Jeff helped me through it," Foster said.
Now, Jamaia is headed back to school where she plans to study psychology at GRCC.
“I would like to be kind of like Jeff, like a mentor or like some type of substance abuse coordinator to help children. Something in that area," Foster said.
An area that Jeffery continues to make a real impact in.
“If you are struggling right now in silence, ask for the help. Get the help you need and not only that, never give up," Carter said.
Jeffery never gave up and now he has a life to be proud of.
Not only is Jeffery working full time as a peer recovery coach, but he’s now enrolled full time as a student at Grand Valley State University.
He’s pursuing a bachelor’s degree in social work so that he can continue what he calls his purpose of helping people.
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