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It’s graduation day! Excitement is in the air, gowns are being distributed, selfies are being taken and the smiles are big. But this isn’t a high school or college class getting ready for the graduate stroll. These grads are from the LIMA (Law Enforcement Intervention for Mental Health and Addiction) program.

While posing for a selfie with his grinning pals, a soon-to-be graduate zips his gown and proclaims, “This is the first time I’ve ever worn one of these!” He straightens his graduation cap and adds, “I’ve never graduated from anything before.” 

Those who know about substance abuse know the awful grip it has on users and the destruction it leaves in its wake. The LIMA Program offers hope for those dealing with the issues surrounding substance abuse and the related criminal activity that frequently accompanies addiction.

“The success of the LIMA Program is vital. Your success will touch people outside of this room; and quite frankly outside of this state,” said LVMPD Captain Roxanne Burke who was a keynote speaker. “The legacy you leave as graduates of the LIMA program is worldwide. People will hear of you and know of you; and you will help somebody else feel their own power and reach their own success; and that is an honorable place to be.”

The LIMA (Law Enforcement Intervention for Mental Health and Addiction) Program is a collaboration between the Eighth Judicial District Court of Nevada and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. The graduation held on August 6, was the first in-person graduation ever, for the program that helps participants get housing, employment, mental health treatment, and substance use disorder treatment.

The new grads got VIP treatment at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Headquarters with a special lunch catered by Second Chance Catering. That’s a big switch for most of the folks who were being honored. Captain Burke joked, “We tend to be on a first name basis with some people.” That first-name basis with law enforcement doesn’t usually come from lunches and pats on the back; but, more for encounters involving drug abuse and low-level criminal activity. It’s the kind of stuff that keeps people revolving through the justice system.

“This is how to achieve long-term recovery,” said Captain Burke. “We can’t incarcerate our way out of this. Arrest isn’t going to solve the problem. Arrests might be a necessary recourse. But that’s not the solution.”

Several other speakers including Dr. Sheldon Jacobs and Dr. Stephanie Woodard provided inspiring words to encourage the new graduates to stay strong in the face of the adversity they will likely face. Dr. Jacobs compared struggles to storms and said, “The sun shines brighter after a storm.”

Another speaker, Las Vegas local Paul Vautrinot shared that he relapsed 10 times before he got sober. Paul has been in recovery since 2014, after having been addicted to heroin and methamphetamines for nearly a decade while he lived in the Las Vegas tunnels. As a graduate of the Henderson ABC Drug Court program, and now vice president of the alumni group’s board, he defied the odds to become the program director of Freedom House, the housing director for Crossroads of Southern Nevada, the program director for Shine a Light, and a board member for There is No Hero in Heroin. 

He opened his speech to the grads with, “I say things that are tragic to some and super funny to us. So you guys are in for a ride.” He shared that just before his began his recovery, he felt that there was no longer hope in his life. He ended up getting arrested and in drug court. He spent the first nine months of his recovery denying that he wanted to do it.

Paul entertained the grads with a funny recount of being nine months sober and working at a car wash while $1,500 in debt to recovery. He found a bag with $2,000 hidden in a car that he was cleaning. “My criminal brain said, they don’t know this is here.” Instead of stealing the money, he gave it to the owner whose wife lost the bag and didn’t know where she put it. Four Metro officers walked in four minutes after Paul turned the money over.  Vautrinot said, “It clicked – for the first time in my life, I made the right decision and I had nothing to run from.” He also ended up getting $1,000 in reward money.

Paul Vautrinot’s hilarious recovery speech https://youtu.be/xk-IqwW1pCI

He said, “I have to constantly remind myself is that I suffer from a disease that’s (sic) primary symptom is trying to convince me that I don’t have a disease. Stay close to your people.”

Angel Lash who is the LIMA Diversion Program Coordinator for the District Court was recognized by the Metro LIMA team for her outstanding work with the program.

LIMA is a nine to 12 month pre-booking diversion program, developed to address low-level drug crimes. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) officers redirect those with low-level drug related charges into the LIMA Program to engage in community-based services. The goal is to get eligible individuals services that will help them and ultimately improve public safety and reduce criminal activity. When law enforcement diverts individuals away from the justice system into community-based services for treatment and life-skills training, it improves the likelihood that participants will achieve success. Those referred must have a chemical dependency issue and be willing to engage in treatment services throughout their participation in the LIMA Program.

Participants are given referrals to services based on their needs including:

· Individual and group substance abuse counseling provided

· Mental health and co-occurring counseling provided

· Collaborative case management

· Detoxification services

· Intensive outpatient and or inpatient treatment

· Weekly/biweekly meetings with case manager

· Referrals to sober living, low-income housing, and/or temporary/transitional housing and housing   services

· Assistance with secure vital documents and establishment of positive support system

Tags: ABC Drug Court program, Angel Lash, Captain Roxanne Burke, Dr. Sheldon Jacobs, Dr. Stephanie Woodard, Eighth Judicial District Court, Eighth Judicial District Court of Nevada, Las Vegas courts, Las Vegas Diversion programs, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Las Vegas treatment programs, Law Enforcement Intervention for Mental Health and Addiction, LIMA program, Nevada courts, Paul Vautrinot, recovery Clark County