BALDWIN COUNTY, Ala. (WKRG) — A program designed to give drug addicts a second chance. Baldwin County honored the recovering addicts Thursday night at the Daphne Civic Center.

Baldwin County District Attorney Robert Wilters said it has exceeded expectations.

“We have a success rate that is really phenomenal, running an 80% success rate,” Wilters said.

The Baldwin County Drug Court has been around since 2007 and offers people who struggle with drug abuse a chance to get help and avoid jail time.

We spoke with graduate Marshall Metz who said the program changed his life for the better.

“I struggled with addiction for many many years,” Metz said. “I couldn’t hold a job; I had no where to live. I was basically homeless just wandering the streets for a long time. I was offered drug court; I went to an impatient treatment center and stayed in there for a year. After that, I graduated from drug court in 2019 and then was asked to become a peer specialist for the state of Alabama.”

Baldwin County District Attorney Robert Wilters said drug use is on the rise.

“There is something new every year,” Wilters said. “Fentanyl has gotten to be really huge.”

And the drug court sets up a path to recovery.

“What affects the users is the ability of people around them to change the people places and things in their lives and keeping them sober long enough, their brain rewires and then they can start thinking clearly,” Wilters said.