Billings Gazette
More than 30 people who usually go to Billings Municipal Court every Wednesday morning, instead took bikes and buses to Avenue C where apartments provide transitional housing for homeless families. Soon, the court group was busy wielding paint brushes, brooms and hedge trimmers.
Lisa Donnot, executive director for Family Promise of Yellowstone Valley, was happy to see the men and women from Billings Municipal Court’s treatment programs. She had a list of spring cleaning projects.
The partnership between Family Promise and the Municipal Court is longstanding. Some court participants have also been served or are being served by Family Promise when they and their children were homeless. Last Wednesday, the court group cleaned and painted an apartment that one family had just vacated and another family would soon occupy.
“We love working with the drug courts,” Donnot said. “It’s a good partnership.”
“We want to give back,” said Randi Felton, coordinator for the DUI treatment court, one of three treatment programs led by Municipal Judge Sheila Kolar. The programs require each participant to complete 30 hours of meaningful community volunteer work, among many other tasks.
Kolar also presides over drug court and enhanced treatment. The latter inducts folks whose serious mental illnesses contributed to repeated minor offenses and arrests. Last week, 58 people were participating in the three programs.
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