ROBERT PIERCE
• Leader & Times
Josh Melton moved from Wichita to Liberal with his then wife, who had health problems at the time, and working full time, Melton was not able to help her.
The wife’s family, however, lived in Liberal and was able to help her, and working seven days a week eventually proved to be too much for Melton.
“I couldn’t do it anymore,” he said.
Feeling overwhelmed, Melton asked an acquaintance for some meth, and this is a decision he said that destroyed three years of his life.
“When I remember seeing the judge for the first time when I was facing charges, I had to go before him, and I was thinking I need to tell him I’m on drugs or something because I need help,” he said. “I don’t know what I’m going to do at this point.”
At that time, Melton did not know the City of Liberal’s Treatment Court program existed, and he was asked by Judge Jason Maxwell if he would like to participate, to which he gave a definite “yes.”
“He told me all the benefits that come with it,” Melton said. “I had to go through the acceptance process.”
After being accepted into the program, Melton was told by Treatment Court Probation Officer Michelle Contreras he would be going into rehab, and upon hearing that news, he said he remembers crying.
“I was like, ‘Thank God, finally I’m going to get some help,’” Melton said.
Melton recently graduated from the Treatment Court program, and he said for those who know him best, the process did not go according to plan most of the time.
“I eventually got out of there, and I got back here,” he said. “When I got back here, I didn’t know what I was going to do because the only people I knew were using, and I knew I couldn’t hang around those people anymore.”
This is when Melton got the idea to visit Club One, a local support group to attend a Narcotics Anonymous meeting, and he said this turned out to be one of the best decisions he had ever made.
“I made a lot of friends through that time of being there,” he said. “I’ve moved up in the NA program. I’m the secretary. I’m the president of Club One.”
Melton credits much of his recovery to God and to Tri-State Area Behavioral Health owner Kathi Boren.
“I can’t not thank her,” he said. “I don’t know where I’d be without her.”
Treatment Court Coordinator Kim Clinkingbeard agreed, saying none of Melton’s rehab journey would have been possible without Boren.
“He was pretty emotional, and he had to gather himself for a minute, and as he stated, she had helped in ways he thought were never possible,” Clinkingbeard said. “Those were some pretty powerful words, and I actually had to take a deep breath because I knew he was speaking from his heart. It was pretty emotional moment for both of us.”
Each Treatment Court graduate gets to choose who will speak at their graduation, and because she had played such a large part, Melton chose Boren.
Boren began by thanking those in the audience for being present to celebrate not only the end of Melton’s Treatment Court journey, but also to recognize the courage to begin again.
“This isn’t just a graduation,” Boren said. “It’s a declaration of resilience. Sixteen months ago, you walked into Treatment Court probably not feeling very hopeful. Life has dealt you out some pain, addiction, trauma, legal consequences. They don’t arrive in a vacuum, and recovery doesn’t come with guarantees, but it does come with a process.”
Boren said a defining thread in Melton’s success story is that he trusted the rehab process even when he did not feel like doing it, when he doubted it and when he hurt.
“That’s what makes this day so powerful,” Boren said. “Trusting the process doesn’t mean blind faith. It means making the choice day after day to believe change is possible even when you can’t see the results yet. Some days, progress looks like big wins. Other days, it looks like not using, not lying, not running.”
A large part of trusting the process, Boren said, is learning healing does not happen on a person’s timeline.
“This growth often comes at uncomfortable moments – the hard conversations, the court check-ins, the relapse prevention plan,” she said. “Those things aren’t punishments. They’re tools, guard rails and lifelines.”
Boren said recovery is something a person must work on every day.
“You’ve been working every day for over a year,” she said to Melton. “You’ve earned this moment, not just because you followed the program, but because you fought for yourself. You took the risk of trusting the process, and that risk is paying off.”
Likewise, Boren thanked the Treatment Court leaders in attendance as well as law enforcement in the crowd for helping Melton through his rehab.
“This work is a lot for you,” she said. “You see the people at their lowest and are asked to respond not just with structure, but with hope. You invest time, energy and emotional labor into people who may not trust you at first. You walk the fine line of accountability and compassion, and you do it because you believe in the possibility of redemption. Thank you for trusting the process. Thank you for believing people can change. Thank you for being part of a system that treats people as human beings, not cases or charges.”
So what comes next for Melton? Boren said the real work continues, but there is some good news for him.
“You’re not starting from zero,” Boren said. “You have 16 months of hard earned growth under your belt. You have new tools, insights and a new kind of strength – the kind you only get from walking through fire and coming out the other side. You’ve proven you can rebuild trust, that you can show up consistently, that you can face uncomfortable truths and still move forward. You’ve proven you can trust the process and that you are trustworthy too. There will be hard days. That’s life, but now, you know how to face it without running away or blowing everything up.”
Boren said Melton also now knows relapse does not mean failure, but rather the need for more support.
“Now, you know asking for help isn’t a weakness,” Boren said. “It’s wisdom, and above all, you know this. You are not broken. You are becoming.”
As Melton enters his next chapter, Boren gave him some last advice to carry with him.
“When doubt creeps in, trust the process,” Boren said. “When you feel unworthy, trust the process. When life throws you a curveball, trust the process, and when you forget who you are, remember this day and trust you’ve built. Congratulations Josh. We believe in you.”
Maxwell briefly spoke, and he praised the work Melton has done to overcome his addiction.
“You’ve managed to navigate through the program and through community corrections,” Maxwell said. “You’ve been an exemplary participant. You’ve been wonderful. All your remaining fines, fees, costs are waived. You finished your probation successfully. You’re released from all Treatment Court requirements. However, we do look forward to you being a leader with our Treatment Court, with NA and Club One and in our community.”
Clinkingbeard said last week’s graduation was a day Melton had been striving for since he started the program.
“This day means a lot to Josh, and he has worked very hard to be here tonight,” she said. “Josh has agreed to continue to be part of the alumni group and show his support for the future Treatment Court participants who will be going through the program.”
Clinkingbeard finished by giving Melton some additional optimism to continue his journey to cleanliness.
“Finally, the good things in life will come to those who believe they can achieve them,” she said. “Better things come to those who learn to be patient and content in the waiting process. The best things in life will come to those who never give up and fight until the end. Josh, you never gave up, and that’s why you’re here. We couldn’t be happier for you.”
