HAMILTON, Ohio — Nicole Hibbard picks up her 8-month-old daughter and smiles. In her small bedroom, she turns on Mickey Mouse. The two stand by her bed and laugh.
It's a small moment, but its importance is something Hibbard can't quite put into words. Because it's something she never thought would happen.
Last year, Hibbard was arrested for stealing cars while pregnant and using drugs. It was rock bottom for someone who'd been revived with Narcan before — someone who hospital officials once told to get her affairs in order because she was dying from all the drug use.
“I didn’t think I’d be able to get clean. I didn’t know how. I didn’t know where to start,” Hibbard said. “Until I went to jail, I thought I was going to lose her.”
She’s lost custody of other children in the past.
“I dug myself such a big hole,” Hibbard said. “I didn’t know how to get out.”
To show me what she means, Hibbard shared pictures that show her journey. Pictures that show her recovering in the hospital when her kidney failed. Pictures that show a huge welt across her forehead. Pictures that were taken after she was arrested.
“I never would have believed it," Hibbard said about her recovery.
Recovery that she says started in court.
Earlier this month in Hamilton, dozens of people like Hibbard showed up for hearings — people who might struggle with addiction and don’t have stable housing. But on this day, they didn’t have to stand before a judge. The judge didn’t even wear his robe.
Instead, defendants spoke to dozens of nonprofits and other resources in the court's lobby. It's part of what officials call the empowerment docket, monthly hearings that focus on finding solutions more than dishing out punishment.
Get more of this inspiring story in the video below:
“Everybody is complicated,” said Hamilton Municipal Court Judge Daniel Gattermeyer.
Gattermeyer told me he started the docket after noticing a lot of people coming through his courtroom experienced homelessness or unstable housing. He said it was important to try something different.
“We’re here for them,” said Penny Crohn, deputy clerk and empowerment docket liaison. “We’re willing to help. And that's what we do.”
WCPO 9 News gathered the community together for a conversation about addiction earlier this week,. To try to find solutions for what continues to be a huge problem in our region. And what we heard over and over was this: We all need to treat people who suffer from substance use disorder like human beings.
Because they are.
That's what brought me to Hamilton's municipal court. I wanted to see it in person. And in the lobby, I saw multiple hugs.
It’s something Hibbard credits with helping her turn her life around — and keep her daughter. Because through someone she met at court, she’s in the process of getting her own apartment with a housing voucher.
Someone who saw past the stigma.
“There’s a lot of judgment with people in addiction," Hibbard said. "A lot of judgment.”
She hopes her story inspires others, even those who look hopeless. Like she once did.
