Barre Town man says treatment court saves his life

Arick Miller, of Barre Town, was showered with praise and congratulations Monday when he graduated from Adult Drug Treatment Court at the Washington County criminal court in Barre. But Miller credits the program he was in for about two years with getting his life back on track.

Miller had been a dispatcher with the Vermont State Police for 10 years when he was prescribed opioids due to a diagnosis of post traumatic stress disorder. That sent him on a path where he was committing crimes and he said his good name was gone.

“When your name is frowned upon like that it’s ten times harder to bring it back,” he said in an interview.

Miller said to this day he doesn’t know what heroin looks like. He said he was raised knowing drugs were bad, but thought prescription drugs were OK because they were prescribed by a doctor.

“Until I got cut off. And then I realized that I did throw my entire life away just to get them. … Unless you’ve been down that road, you have no idea what it’s like to not think about anyone or anything close to you. You’d be willing to give anything you have for a pill,” he said.

Miller credits his time behind bars with starting his recovery process. He said his 4-year-old son is his biggest motivator to stay clean.

“I went from sleeping next to my son from the day he was born to sleeping in a cell with three other people. Every single day I hoped I wouldn’t wake up. Because it was throughout the holidays and I was supposed to be with him and I wasn’t. That was hard. It was very hard,” Miller said through tears.

He said he needed time behind bars to think and be miserable to realize what the pills did to his life. That’s when he decided he would never use again.

Miller said before he started using he remembers driving by treatment facilities and laughing at the “crackheads” getting treatment there.

“Those are some of the best fricking people you’ve ever met in your life. The strongest people. The people that are sitting (in the courtroom) waiting for their turn with the judge, a lot of them are incredible people. But their mind is fogged with substances,” he said.

Besides being in prison, Miller said treatment court is one of the hardest things he’s ever done.

The program has three phases. Phase one is about showing up for appointments and making an honest commitment to staying off drugs. Phase two involves getting into treatment and learning coping skills to stay clean. Phase three is when the person focuses on his or her ongoing recovery and reintegrating into society drug-free.

Miller said if someone were to enter into treatment court, Judge Mary Morrissey is the judge you want.

“From what I’ve seen, she will bend over backwards for any individual willing to get clean or sober. She will go above and beyond. If you lie to her, she’s going to throw you in jail. But she’ll help anyone and its just been an incredible experience,” he said.

He said those that facilitate the program and held him accountable saved his life and turned him into the father he always wanted to be and his son needed.

For those still using, Miller’s advice was to take things one day at a time. And if they can’t do that, try to not use for an hour at a time or even a minute.

“If you have kids, call them. Hear the pain in their voice. Call your parents if you have them. If you don’t have anyone go to rehab, they will give you someone to motivate you,” he said.

For those who have friends or family members who use, Miller’s advice is to support them. He said call them up and let them know they have someone who cares about them. It could be the motivator they need and instead of using again they may call you instead for support.

During Miller’s graduation, Morrissey let Miller’s son sit in her chair at the bench and hold the gavel. She said she wasn’t sure how Miller’s treatment was going to pan out when she first met him.

“Partly because I think you needed to get out of your own way,” she said.

The judge said there was no question Miller was capable of being successful in the program, but he had to let down his guard and accept help. Miller agreed, saying he wanted to do things his way, but his way led him to treatment court in the first place.

Miller said honesty is now one of his coping mechanisms. He said he used to pretend everything was fine, but being honest means he can deal with things as they come up instead of ignoring them.

Miller had friends and family in attendance who spoke about how proud they are of the work he’s done to get back on his feet, including starting up his own woodworking company called Vermont Custom Woodworking.

Washington County State’s Attorney Rory Thibault said he didn’t think Miller would get to this point. Thibault said what he realized was Miller couldn’t be honest with himself about his use so he couldn’t be honest with others.

“I have to say, I’ve been pleasantly surprised watching Arick go through these last two years. It’s been a really amazing transformation,” he said.

Miller was then presented with his certificate of graduation from the program.