‘You are worthy’: Two grads find stability and support in treatment court

His next words were at odds with the new position he was inhabiting, but given the circumstances, they also made sense.

“I hate talking in front of people,” he said with a shake of his head. “But Mark, you deserve it, OK? All I want to say is, I’m proud of you.”

Seated inside the Campbell County courthouse Tuesday, pride, respect and joy were present — not always typical of courtroom atmosphere. It was a happy day, a recognition of two graduates seated at the front of the room — two graduates who fought hard to show that lives filled with addiction can change.

“You know, we used to say when I was a lawyer that the only happy day in court was for an adoption,” said Kate Fox, chief justice of the Wyoming Supreme Court. “But now we have this, treatment court graduation.”

The Tuesday graduation marked another step for Mark Kiser and Kayla Lusch-Benson in their journey to a life without addiction — a life built on their own terms rather than the drugs or alcohol they’d previously let control them. For about 18 months, the two have devoted countless hours through the Campbell County Adult Treatment Court in an effort to turn their lives around.

On Tuesday, they were able to show it was all worth it.

A different life

Lusch-Benson, 39, considers herself lucky that she was able to go through the program. In 2021, she was caught taking marijuana into jail a second time, which she thought would’ve sealed her fate.

Nov. 27, 2021, was the day she started drug court. It’s a day the former four-time felon doesn’t plan on forgetting.

“I should’ve probably went back to prison,” she said. “I’d already been in prison for (taking drugs in) once, so I got lucky that I got to be a part of the program.”

While in the program, Lusch-Benson graduated from Gillette College with high honors and her degree, an Associate of Science in Business Administration. She now works at Titan Solutions and hopes that her children can see that change is possible from her success.

“I just wanted a different life, you know?” she said of her choice to stick with the program. Midway through, she wasn’t sure she was going to make it, but she ultimately graduated without a single sanction.

Now she also sponsors a 20-year-old woman, something she never thought she’d be able to do.

“I always said, ‘I’ll get high until the day I die,’” she said. “But things change and people grow up.”

Amber Beaverson took time to speak to that growth during the graduation. As she made her way to the front, she gestured from her eyes to Lusch-Benson’s before coming to the stand.

“Look at you,” she said. “Look at the people whose lives you’ve touched because you did this. You are worthy.”

That worthiness is something Julie Huston, Kiser’s mother, has tried to instill in her son throughout the last decade, predominantly to no avail.

For her, the graduation was a moment she’d dreamed about for years. Her hope that he could live a clean life was a hope she clung onto, even when it caused fights within the family.

But as a mother, she couldn’t give up on her son — a son she’s always seen as smart and deserving of love.

“It’s a moment I never ever thought I would see in my life,” she said of his graduation. “It’s been a long road but I’m so, so proud of him and I have every hope that my boy has turned into a man.”

Initially, Kiser, 25, said he resisted the program. It was difficult and he wasn’t used to taking accountability for his actions. He began using drugs and alcohol at the age of 12 but in the program, he realized he couldn’t keep going the way he had been before.

“Ultimately, I knew I needed to change now or else I would’ve ended up six feet down. I would’ve ended up dead,” he said. “I was also sick of seeing the pain in my family’s eyes.”

To complete the program, the two had to complete nearly 200 hours of treatment, work full time, go to school full time and complete dozens of hours of community service, along with submitting to random drug tests. The program is intertwined into every aspect of their lives, which is intentional, said Chad Beeman, treatment court program coordinator.

The difficulty of the program ensures that anyone who makes it to graduation is committed and in a better place than when they began.

Kiser now has a house, a truck, a job and stability. He says he’s in a better place now than he’s ever been in his life.

“I go to sleep good at night knowing I’m not waking up in a jail cell,” he said.

Ray Anguiano has seen both graduates work through difficulties throughout the program. He’s even completed burpies alongside Kiser in prison cells, as they tried to pass the time.

“I’ve seen your success and I’ve also seen you at your lows,” he said to the two. “Remember what it’s like to be proud of yourself but also remember what it’s like to be ashamed. That’s what addiction brings. Don’t go back.”

Both were uncertain of the program when they began more than a year ago, but as Kiser and Lusch-Benson stepped out of the courtroom after graduating, they were met with smiles, laughter and cheers. The two worked hard to finish the program but also knew it would’ve been impossible if not for those supporting them throughout.

So on Tuesday, it was a celebration for the graduates but also a way for Kiser and Lusch-Benson to celebrate those who never left their side.