At most high school and college graduations, the focus is on what promise lies in the futures of departing students.
On June 18, nearly two dozen men and women gathered in Napa for a different kind of graduation — a celebration not only of new possibilities, but also of moving away from life choices and habits that had put them in trouble with the law, or even in jail.
With handshakes, gift bags and diplomas, members of the Napa County Community Corrections Service Center rewarded 22 people who had been placed on probation, but had studied for up to a year to learn how to get their lives back on track.
They had received the chance to avoid jail for various offenses — most of them connected to alcohol and drug abuse — and had entered the county’s probation reentry program, which GEO Reentry Services operates for Napa County.
Over nine to 12 months, they received classes and one-on-one counseling to cope with substance dependency and other ills. They also received training in such life skills as budgeting, finance and family restoration to improve their chances of establishing stable work and family lives and lessen the chance of reoffending, according to Karen Graff, manager of the reentry program.
About 60 people are receiving such counseling at a given time, both at the Napa County jail and at GEO’s reentry center at the old Hall of Justice building on Third Street.
“The barriers these graduates have faced are so overwhelming," Graff told the audience during the graduation ceremony at the Napa Elks Lodge. “They pulled (themselves) up by their bootstraps and said, ‘Not me — I’m not going back down that old road because I have too much to lose. I’ve come this far, and I’m not looking back.’”
The chance to return to life with a clean slate was the product of numerous small, unremarkable but important choices made over many months not to fall back into familiar habits, said Joe Longoria, the county’s chief deputy probation officer.
“We’re focusing on thousands of decisions that you made on a journey,” he told the graduates. “Thousands of decisions where you decided to show up to do your check-in, to not drink, to not use (drugs), to get a job, even to just go apply for a job — things you weren’t doing before.
Thousands of decisions are making you a better person today. Thousands of decisions have improved your relationships today.”
As the graduates each received their certificates in turn, one described the turn her life has taken after passing through the reentry program.
“My life today is amazing. I have my apartment; I have a car; I just took myself through nursing school,” said Mikko Dunfee during the ceremony. “I graduated my state board exams. I got licensed by the state of California. I have a job, and I’ve kept my job for a year now… Life’s not always perfect, but I can handle it.”
“I realized old ways won’t open new doors,” said Octavio DeHaro, who also received his certificate at the ceremony. “I had to hit rock bottom to realize that and break the cycle. I’ve turned my life around from negative to positive, for the better of myself and my family.
Vanessa Espionza barely kept her composure as she explained the value of her second chance.
“I definitely want to say I couldn’t have done it without each and every one of you pushing me, just supporting me,” she told reentry counselors after receiving her diploma. “I had to take it upon myself to want to work for myself, to understand that God's will has me here, and I have the opportunity to still turn my life around, to be a better person and a better daughter.”
The payoff for some graduates seemed even sweeter given the dark places from which they had emerged — places that had compelled them to seek help rather than face harsher punishment.
“When I first entered this program, it wasn’t because I wanted to be here,” graduate Piper Knutson told the audience at the Napa ceremony. “Like many of us, I came here because of choices I made that led to consequences. At the time I felt frustrated, embarrassed and uncertain about what the future would look like.”
“Graduation from this program is not the finish line; it’s a new beginning,” Knutson said. “I know there will still be challenges ahead, but I also know that I’m capable of overcoming them.
“To anyone who is still working through the program, keep going. Progress isn’t always easy to see in the moment, but every step matters.”
