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Crystal Garza, the Yakima County Family Treatment Court's first graduate, has swapped drugs for motherhood, anger for confidenceYakima Herald-Republic
Crystal Garza plays with her children Isaiah, 2, and Italia, 1, outside her new apartment in Yakima Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2008. Garza was reunited with her children through Yakima County Family Treatment Court, which helps parents in attaining a lifestyle free of alcohol and drugs.
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Crystal Garza began experimenting with marijuana and alcohol at age 12. By 17, she had two kids and was involved in a gang. At 20, she was convicted of first-degree assault.
Only after completing a support and treatment program through the Yakima County Family Treatment Court did Garza reshape her life for the better.
She will be recognized as the program's first graduate during a ceremony Thursday.
"I believe in myself today," said Garza, 33. "I know I am not a bad person. I just made bad choices."
Disappearing for weeks
Garza gave birth to her son at 16. After her daughter was born the following year, Garza left her abusive boyfriend and moved to Granger to be near family.
She wasn't ready to be a parent, though. So while her grandmother raised her kids, Garza would disappear for weeks at a time to get high on cocaine.
"Like most teens, I didn't think of the reality of (motherhood)," she said. "I felt lost. ... I thought drugs were my remedy to all the hurt and anger I felt."
This is also when Garza joined an established Lower Valley gang, an outlet that enables outsiders like her to feel loved and accepted, she said. Describing herself as a walking ball of anger, Garza would spend her days partying and fighting. It became her new norm.
Her lifestyle soon caught up with her. She was convicted of first-degree assault and sentenced to 61/2 years in a Gig Harbor prison. That's when Garza's kids were placed in different homes, and Garza became committed to bettering her life.
She got off drugs. She earned her GED, and she became trained in everything from clerical work to carpentry. After she was released from prison, she moved to Tacoma and worked at a McDonald's.
Garza said she remained clean for another 21/2 years. Then her grandmother died, and everything changed.
"I relapsed within an hour," said Garza about her homecoming to Granger. "I just decided then and there that I was born to be an addict. I lost hope completely."
Finally, the breakdown
Garza rejoined her gang and started using methamphetamine and heroin. She tried quitting. She even enrolled in a treatment program. But when the pains of withdrawal grew too great, she succumbed to temptation.
"I couldn't stand being in my own skin," she said. "I was out on the streets, gang banging, prostitution, the whole nine yards."
She had a son born addicted to meth. He was taken from her and placed with relatives. She was still using when she gave birth to her fourth child, a girl, 15 months later.
That's when Garza had a breakdown.
"My past haunted me so bad with my other three children. I couldn't bear to lose my daughter," Garza said. "I wanted to give my daughter a healthy life. I wanted her to know what love was."
That's when she got involved with Yakima County Family Treatment Court, a three-phase, yearlong program that helps parents overcome their addictions and reunite with their children. The program has existed elsewhere in the nation since the 1980s; it took root in Yakima County in July of last year.
An intense regimen
Once children are removed from the home, eligible parents are matched to the program via referrals from their defense attorneys or Child Protective Services.
Parents qualify for enrollment if they admit to their addictions. They must acknowledge that their kids were taken from them, at least in part, because of their drug use. And they must agree to give the state authority over their children.
From there, an intense regimen begins. Participants are treated for drug and alcohol abuse. Their urine is tested frequently, and they attend multiple support group meetings. They take parenting classes and they're taught how to cope with the stresses that led to their addictions.
To aid in their recovery, parents are given an arsenal of support. Everyone from social workers and lawyers to mental health and Triumph Treatment providers make themselves available to lend their expertise and guidance.
These same officials also track the parent's progress in court, initially on a weekly basis. Achievements are rewarded through applause and even gift certificates. If parents make mistakes, their visitation rights with their children may change or they may be assigned to community service.
But no matter what, the meetings always end on a positive note, said Debbie Chard, a social worker who oversees the program.
"When they're praised, they light up," she said. "They don't need to be told they screwed up. They're told that their whole life. They need to know they're valued."
Twelve mothers and one father are now taking part in the program, which was established without grant funding. The state Department of Social and Health Services assigned Chard to oversee the program. Other officials made the program a part of their regular job responsibilities and designed their schedules and budgets accordingly.
So far, only one person in the local chapter has been asked to leave, and no one has suffered a relapse. Nationally, Chard estimates 200,000 to 300,000 people have enrolled in the program, which boasts an 86 percent success rate.
The ultimate goal of the service is to end the cycle of substance abuse. Supporters believe that helping parents will result in fewer children becoming addicts themselves. That, in turn, would result in more children staying with their parents instead of entering foster care.
What makes the program successful is the team's cooperation and vigilance in keeping the parents on track, Chard said. This includes close monitoring. She could drop in on the parents unexpectedly, including at night or on weekends.
The team also performs background checks on the parents' companions, intervening if any relationship endangers their recovery.
"They know they can call somebody and somebody will be there," she said.
Unable to trust others
When Garza first entered the program, she was tough and angry. She was guarded, and she didn't trust anybody, Chard said.
"She was looking for a reason not to do the program," Chard said. "Letting someone inside was not in her plan."
Every obstacle in Garza's life became a crisis, and she'd call Chard on almost a daily basis. For the first time, Garza had to confront long-buried emotions without medicating herself with drugs, Chard said.
"She had a lot to run from, a lot to hide," she said. "She didn't know how to make the slightest decision. Even getting her phone bill was a crisis. She had no control over her emotions."
But as time went on, Garza gradually learned how to cope with daily stresses. She gained confidence in her parenting skills and she began making healthier choices for herself.
"She made it. I'm so proud of her," Chard said. "She's our role model. She's the individual who will pay it forward."
Robert Inouye, a Yakima County Superior Court commissioner who oversaw Garza's case, said Garza acknowledged all of her shortcomings and worked hard to better herself. She was dedicated to being a good mother, and she did whatever was asked of her.
Even though she's about to continue her recovery on her own, Inouye is optimistic she will continue to do well.
"She's come through with flying colors," he said. "She's showed us that she has a real good chance of being successful long term."
Bringing the kids home
In the beginning of her recovery, Garza had difficulty believing in herself, trusting in her success. She lived her life one day at a time, learning about her disease and how to recognize triggers that could lead to a relapse.
She asked for help when she needed it, and she focused on becoming a good parent. She was allowed to see her two youngest children more frequently, and now they're living with her full time. Her son, Isaiah, is 21/2 years old, and her daughter, Italia, is 1.
Going back to drugs wasn't an option, Garza said. She knew she had one more chance to make things right, and she was determined not to blow it.
"I knew this was my last chance. I felt it," she said. "Drugs were my excuse for everything and I didn't want to use that excuse anymore."
Through the program, Garza said she gained needed structure. She began taking responsibility for her actions, and she started setting goals for herself.
"It was a struggle, but I prayed and I kept my faith," she said. "I found my way by believing in myself and knowing what I wanted and what I could make happen."
This winter, Garza is enrolling at Yakima Valley Community College, where she plans to major in sociology. She wants to use that education to help people like herself.
"I want to go back to school to help people just like me -- another addict, another struggling parent, another person who feels lost," she said. "I want to give them hope."
* Erin Snelgrove can be reached at 577-7684 or esnelgrove@yakimaherald.com.
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