The Sixth Circuit of the South Dakota Unified Judicial System will hold a Treatment Court graduation ceremony Wednesday (Nov. 13, 2024) at 9am CST at the Capitol Lake Visitors Center in Pierre (650 E. Capitol Avenue). Recovery support person Leta Wise Spirit with Urban Indian Health will be the featured speaker. The ceremony is open to the public. Participants must complete extensive treatment services, maintain employment and be proactively engaged within their community. To be eligible for the program, a person must live within 25 miles of the Stanley County Courthouse in Fort Pierre. The Sixth Circuit began offering DUI court in 2009 and added a drug court track in 2014. The court is now referred to as Sixth Circuit Treatment Court. The program’s mission is to enhance public safety and to improve the quality of life for participants, families and the community by providing a judicially-supervised regimen of treatment, supervision and case management to alcohol and/or drug dependent offenders. UJS says treatment courts are an effective strategy for treating substance use and mental health disorders while reducing recidivism and saving taxpayer dollars. These courts have proven that a combination of supervision, treatment and support can lead people with substance use and/or mental health disorders into lives of stability, wellness and recovery.