Robert Payne lost his brother at a young age.
The 66-year-old said he “tried to use drugs and everything else (so that) I could not feel and remember what had happened.” He said that when the money would run out, the crime would start. “I’ve been doing that over and over again. At least 12 or 13 times, just going to the penitentiary alone.”
But when he found himself back in jail in 2022, he resolved to break the cycle of substance abuse and crime. Instead of serving time, he agreed to join a recovery program meant for people who’ve committed non-violent offenses related to their substance use.
Over the course of the two-year program, Payne underwent substance use treatment, attended self-help meetings, worked with a sponsor and completed community service hours. He even landed a job as a maintenance worker.
On Thursday, he stood in front of a packed courtroom at 26th Street and California Avenue to accept his diploma as he graduated from the Rehabilitative Alternative Probation program, or (W)RAP.
“I am very happy,” Payne said. “Right now, I’m living my best life. I wake up grateful because I know how bad it could be.”
Payne was one of 14 graduates who all had their records expunged for completing (W)RAP run by Cook County Judge Charles Burns. The nationally-acclaimed program offers people like Payne an alternative to incarceration by supporting participants through their recovery and helping them reintegrate into the community.
“Having a substance abuse disorder is not a moral failure. It’s a recognized disease,” Burns told the graduates who packed the jury box as some of them wiped away tears.
“We don’t give up on you. If you’re ready to commit to your recovery, my team can put up with some relapses, because that’s what recovery is all about,” he said.
The program has graduated 1,151 participants since its inception in 1998. Program leaders say they look for people within the justice system facing non-violent charges that show a clear link between a substance use disorder and their criminal history.
Melvin Jones, 54, said he was addicted to heroin for a decade before he joined the program. He thought he’d never be able to get off the drug. But the program helped him turn his life around. Now, he says, “I have no desire to do heroin.”
The program relies on community partnerships to help participants get jobs and find housing.
Cara Collective, a Chicago-based workforce development organization, helped Jones get a job at Rush Medical Center, where he works as an Environmental Services technician.
Hara Scalin, 52, completed a six-month workforce development program and an internship at the Haymarket Center during her time in (W)RAP. She is now a resident coordinator at St. Leonard’s Ministries. She’s also working towards getting certified as a Recovery Support Specialist.
Scalin said she was “truly hopeless” before she started the program.
“I didn’t see a way out,” she said. “I had decades of criminal history and drug abuse, and it wasn’t anything but this program that started me in the right direction.”
For Scalin, the hardest part was the beginning, she said, as she had to “learn how to deal with emotions and problems without the use of drugs and alcohol.” But the accountability aspect of (W)RAP helped her heal. That included frequent drug tests and regular court appearances.
“If I didn’t have that accountability, I don’t think it would have been successful, because I didn’t believe that I could do it,” she said.
Now that she’s received her diploma — and her record has been cleared — Scalin is planning a trip to Florida.
“I’m going to go see my 90-year-old mother,” she said, “so that she can see what it looks like to see a sober daughter for the first time in a long time.”
