NATCHEZ — It’s not often one sees dancing in the Adams County Circuit courtroom, but when she heard her name called out Monday evening, Ruby Carman danced a little jig.

Carman — along with local resident Kenneth Carver Sr. — was one of the Adams County’s Family Drug Court inaugural graduates.

Turning to the laughing audience, Carman wasn’t bashful.

“That felt good, ya’ll,” she said.

Adams County has only one of two family drug court programs in the State of Mississippi. Youth Justice Judge John Hudson said the program was designed so that when the court determined that an instance of youth abuse or neglect was the result of alcohol abuse, families would be able to stay together or be reunited.

“When we identify that a family is falling apart because of drugs or alcohol, that is when they are placed in this program,” Hudson said.

The family drug court program is a three-tiered system, and lasts approximately a year. Participants are taught both drug or alcohol and family coping skills. Monday’s ceremony included not only a recognition of the graduates but phase promotions for four other participants.

Hudson said the state drug court advisory council funds the program, and that as only the second county in Mississippi to have one like it, he’s proud to be — in his words — “a guinea pig.”

“(Because of family drug court), you can have a functional family, you can be a contributing parent and you can go forth and be a contributing family in the world,” Hudson said.

“(Drug court) helps give everyone in our system the tools they need to defeat those drugs on a daily basis and mentor (their) children on how to avoid them.”

Carver said he thanked everyone, from the Department of Human Services to Hudson, for believing in him and giving him a second chance. He also said he was thankful to the court for something else — the electronic ankle bracelet that was able to monitor if he had consumed alcohol.

“Sometimes it takes a push to get people in their right mind,” he said.

Mississippi State Supreme Court Justice Randy G. “Bubba” Pierce spoke to the graduates.

Family drug court was a second chance for them, he said, and the graduates have drawn a line in the sand that says they are going to break the cycle of addiction.

Pierce said drug court is important because it saves money, but it is also important because it saves lives.

“Family is worth breaking addiction,” he said.

“We only get one life this side of eternity, and no matter what age you are, you have to decide, ‘I am going to make a positive difference.’”

The lessons of drug court are for anyone who is struggling with addiction, Carman said.

“If somebody wants to quit, whatever they are doing, they can do it,” she said.