Like with so many other addicts, the path that Edwardsburg’s Richard Lawson traveled to sobriety was not an easy one.

His own initial reluctance to even take the first step following his admission to the county’s Family Treatment Court program did not help matters.

Lawson entered the drug rehabilitation system in the spring of 2015, after he was convicted for running a methamphetamine lab out of his home in December 2014.

“At first, when I came [into the program], I was very reluctant to trust anybody or care about anything, and I especially didn’t care about what anyone else thought,” Lawson said. “As I went through, though, I listened and began working outside the box. I stopped trying to run the program, and let the program run me.”

Thanks to his change of heart and willingness to learn from the many people with the court system, Woodlands Behavioral Health and others with agencies involved in the Family Treatment Court program, Lawson is now two years, seven months and three days sober.

Most importantly, though, he is now there to raise his 9-year-old son, Jacob.

On Wednesday, Lawson recounted his tale to the crowd assembled on the sunny fields of Don Horne Park in Cassopolis, during the second annual Cass County Reunification Day. Dozens of county officials and members of the community attended the ceremony, which recognized local families who were brought back together after being split apart due to drug abuse and other crimes.

The event was hosted in conjunction with National Reunification Month, which was established in 2010 by several national legal and child advocacy groups to celebrate youth who rejoin their biological parents after being placed in the foster care system.

County officials hosted last year’s inaugural Reunification Day in Lansing, celebrating the day alongside other Michigan leaders during a statewide event. Among those who spoke at last year’s ceremony was Cass County Probate Judge Susan Dobrich, a longtime advocate for the rights of children in the foster care system who introduced the Family Treatment Court program in the county — a program that has helped reunite many local families over the years.

Dobrich opened this year’s event, and praised her fellow judges, attorneys, case managers and many others who work in tandem to rehabilitate parents and get them back with their children. The strong cooperation between legal, foster care and rehabilitation agencies in Cass is quite uncommon across other counties in the state, Dobrich said.

“We believe that every child desires a safe, supportive and permanent family, and every family should have the support of a strong and caring community,” Dobrich said. “Every community can create hope and opportunities for its children and families. Everyone has a role in building this.”

Cass County Circuit Judge Mark Herman, himself a former judicial referee in the juvenile court system, echoed Dobrich’s remarks, praising the partnerships responsible for reuniting local families.

“As an attorney who represented parents and children, or as a referee, there was nothing that put a smile on [my] face or a glow in [my] heart more than reuniting families with their children,” Herman said. “That is what we are here for. You can actually be role models for us, and others in the community. Our goals are just to get you on the right track.”

County agencies continue to support families even after their reunification, as in the case of Lawson, who regained custody of his son in March 2016. The Edwardsburg man said that, while he and his son continue to face trials and tribulations, his sponsor and staff at Woodlands provide him with the support he needs to remain sober and connected to the rest of the community — as well as to continue to be the best father he can be to Jacob.

“It’s very important that he has someone who can take care of him, and be with him when he needs it,” Lawson said.