By Patricia Breakey
DELHI _ Five people graduated from the Delaware County Drug Court during the 18th graduation ceremony held during the five years the local court has existed.
"It seems like only yesterday that we started this process," Delaware County Judge Carl Becker said.
Danielle O'Keeff, 26, now of Poughkeepsie but formerly of Margaretville, was presented with her Delaware County certificate of achievement on Monday. She also received a special certificate of merit from the state Assembly sponsored by Assemblyman Clifford Crouch and delivered by Rod Decker.
O'Keeff said she was wearing shackles the day she first walked into the courtroom.
"All I could think of was, Please help me, I surrender,'" O'Keeff told the crowd gathered for the graduation. "I thought my life was screwed up forever. At times I just wanted to crawl in a hole and sleep, but I kept going."
O'Keeff said she was initially intimidated by Becker, "but then I realized he was just out to help, not hurt me.
"I never would have thought that a thing called drug court could be such a caring and loving place," she added.
After the ceremony, O'Keeff said the 762-day journey through drug court began after her father, John O'Keeff, had her arrested.
John O'Keeff died in December and didn't get to see his daughter win her war.
"My father was worried about me," O'Keeff said. "I was hooked on opiates. I weighed 97 pounds. If you saw me then, you wouldn't believe I was the same person now."
Becker said graduation from drug court requires 365 consecutive clean days with no trace of drugs or alcohol. Few make it in 365 days, he said, but O'Keeff's willingness to continue resulted in one of the longest stints on record.
O'Keeff said she was in jail on a 30-day program and then went to a co-ed halfway house, where she ended up in a relationship with a fellow addict.
"That was when drug court was offered to me," she said, "and I went to New Hope Manor, which was an all-female facility."
O'Keeff said she struggled when her father died but managed to stay on track.
She is working as an assistant chef in a detox unit in Poughkeepsie and said she hopes she has found a career path.
"I took a short course on culinary arts, and it is my passion," she said.
Celeste O'Keeff, Danielle's mother, was hesitant to talk about her daughter's victory, but said, "I'm overwhelmed with joy."
Regina Stabbert, O'Keeff's counselor at New Hope Manor, said, "Danielle has always been very grateful for the opportunity she had and the things people did for her. She is as beautiful on the inside as on the outside.
"Danielle has gratitude in her heart and a deep faith and spirituality," Stabbert continued. "Her father saved her life."
Betty Currier of Friends of Recovery was the guest speaker. She shared her story of recovery from alcoholism.
"Recovery is not a spectator sport," Currier said. "There is no pill that can make you whole."
Currier said nature hates a vacuum, so when drugs and alcohol are removed, people have to put something in their place. That, she said, is where support groups and 12-step fellowships become vital.
"It's a wonderful world of recovery out there," Currier said. "And there is a place for each one of us."
