photo by: Sylas May/Journal-World

Pictured from left are retired Judge Sally Pokorny; Alex Cowdin, the 100th graduate of Douglas County's Behavioral Health Court; Judge Stacey Donovan; and Judge Mark Simpson.

There have now been 100 successful graduates of Douglas County’s Behavioral Health Court, and the latest one, Alex Cowdin, has some advice to keep that number growing.

“This program’s really awesome,” Cowdin told the other court participants at his final hearing on Tuesday. “If you really just take advantage of it and take what is offered you, you’ll go really far.”

After dozens of hearings and therapy visits and a lot of hard work to improve his life, Cowdin has become the milestone 100th graduate, something he, his mother and court staff celebrated at a ceremony after the hearing. There, Cowdin said he’d gotten much more than just a dismissal of his charges – he also got new skills to live a more stable life, and got to know “what it feels like to give back” to the community.

“Everything’s changed,” Cowdin told the Journal-World.

photo by: Sylas May/Journal-World

Judge Stacey Donovan congratulates Alex Cowdin, the 100th graduate of Douglas County’s Behavioral Health Court, on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, at the Douglas County Courthouse.

Judge Stacey Donovan, who took over the program from Judge Sally Pokorny when Pokorny retired earlier this year, said graduation “is an amazing accomplishment for any individual,” and the milestone was an amazing accomplishment for the county, too.

Behavioral Health Court originated from conversations among county leaders a decade or so ago about how best to help people with chronic mental health and substance use issues. In the program, participants have to devote a year or more to getting treatment and learning life skills to help them stay out of the court system in the future. At the end, their charges are dismissed, and they can start fresh.

Senior Assistant District Attorney Jim Carpenter, who works extensively with specialty courts, said these programs demand a lot out of their participants.

“These courts are not easy,” Carpenter said. “It takes a lot of effort and a lot of commitment.”

Pokorny, who was at Tuesday’s ceremony, said there had been at least twice as many participants in the program throughout the years as there were graduates; the program has a graduation rate of just over 50%. And although those who don’t graduate do learn valuable skills, she said – “at least you know where to go for help” – it’s still sad when someone can’t make it all the way to the finish line.

“Many people, they’ll reach a point where they start losing hope or focus,” Pokorny said. But the team of attorneys and other court staff does its best to motivate them and help them realize they can do it.

photo by: Sylas May/Journal-World

Alex Cowdin, the 100th graduate of Douglas County’s Behavioral Health Court (center, in black shirt), poses with his mother, judges and Behavioral Health Court staff on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, at the Douglas County Courthouse.

And when people listen and take ownership like Cowdin has, it works.

Even back when he was in her court, Pokorny said, Cowdin was “immensely focused” and took all the advice he was given. She didn’t think he’d ever had a sanction with the program, which is rare. There are some graduates through the years who’ve surprised her, but with Cowdin, “I never really had any doubts.”

Cowdin went beyond just what was required of him, Carpenter said. He said Cowdin began in Drug Court, but recognized that he could benefit from Behavioral Health Court, too, and sought to take part in it.

“You just were committed to both programs,” Carpenter told him. “And here you are today.”

For his part, Cowdin told the Journal-World that something clicked partway through the program. He realized that it was only going to work if he put in the effort.

“Definitely take advantage of what you have,” Cowdin said. “It’s not something just to skid on by, because if you skid on by, you’re not going to get anything out of this.”

photo by: Sylas May/Journal-World

Alex Cowdin, the 100th graduate of Douglas County’s Behavioral Health Court, holds up his graduation certificate from the program on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, at the Douglas County Courthouse.

With that attitude, Donovan said, Cowdin had set a great example to the other Behavioral Health Court participants. She said Tuesday’s session of Behavioral Health Court was an emotional one, and after he spoke, some participants broke down in tears reflecting on their own lives and what they wanted out of the court.

“We want to thank you for that, and we’re very proud of you,” she said.

One person at Tuesday’s hearing talked about his exhaustion and depression, and how his sobriety is “the only thing I have that keeps me moving forward.” Another one said he’d fallen a bit off track, but was determined to turn his life around. “I absolutely understand why I’m here and what I want from this court,” he said.

“We are all going through something. All of us,” Donovan told the participant. “We’re glad that you’re here.”

Other participants on Tuesday were celebrating successes in their lives, big and small. One moved into a new apartment and was pursuing his education; another got a job recently; another joined a gym.

Pokorny knows that you always get to see those emotional highs and lows in the specialty courts, and that “when you have a successful graduate, that’s the greatest high of all.”

Today, Cowdin is thriving. He has a job, a stable living situation, “everything I need to be a stable adult now,” and his next step, he hopes, will be to go back to school, though he’s not sure what he’ll study.

And the county’s investment in its specialty courts, Donovan said, shows that it values turnarounds like the ones he’s made.

“Douglas County,” she said, “puts its money where its heart is.”

photo by: Sylas May/Journal-World

Alex Cowdin, the 100th graduate of Douglas County’s Behavioral Health Court, celebrates his graduation from the program with his mother, at right, on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, at the Douglas County Courthouse.