Ex-offenders write their way out of addiction, thanks to cancer survivor who has Parkinson’s

We’re talking drug addiction for ex-offenders, who needed a second chance. Instead of a jail sentence, they have been recommended to the drug court program in Morris and Sussex counties. In this program, there is substance abuse treatment, intensive probation supervision and random drug testing to help the ex-offender toward a drug free life.

This is where they meet Conviser, who introduces them to the “Creative Positive Expression Program,” a writing project that she has volunteered to teach without pay since 2012.

“She’s a modern day saint,” said Thomas Brodhecker, 27, of Sussex County.

He’s been in drug court for two years and didn’t understand at first how Conviser’s writing exercises, poetry, and art assignments would help him maintain a life free from drugs.

What could he achieve, he thought, from writing about his favorite flower, a color, a meal or a beautiful day?