ST. LANDRY PARISH — Eighteen participants in St. Landry Parish’s drug and family court celebrated a life-changing milestone Wednesday afternoon — including Janita Collins, a mother of six, who took the stage with courage, pride, and a powerful message of transformation.
"If you need to find me, I’m never hard to find—because I don’t run away from my past anymore. I stand in it and speak from it,” Collins said, holding back tears as the courtroom erupted in applause. The graduates, including Collins, have all completed intensive drug court programs designed to support recovery and family reunification. The Family Preservation Program, created in 2019, is one of those initiatives — a rehab program that helps parents battling addiction regain custody of their children while working toward long-term sobriety.
We first met Janita nearly two years ago when she had just begun her journey in the program. At the time, she was battling a drug addiction, had lost custody of her children, and was facing charges from a Child Protective Services case.
“Back then I caught a CPS case for my youngest child… and then I got drug charges,” she said. “I rebelled against this program,” she added. “But I was at the point where I was going to lose my children to adoption. My children are all I ever had. Losing them would’ve been devastating to me.” On August 9, 2023, she made a life-altering decision to recommit to the program. She completed every requirement over the course of a year.
Now, that hard work has paid off. Today, she walked across the courtroom with her head held high — cheered on by family, supporters, fellow graduates and of course her children.
“To my children — thank you for not giving up on me. You are my motivation and my light,” she said, addressing the crowd.“
I found out my oldest daughter is having a baby. I’m going to be a grandmother — and I want something different for my grandson. I don’t want him exposed to the traumas I went through.”
The Family Preservation Program is one of several accountability and rehabilitation programs operating through the St. Landry Parish drug court system, aiming to reduce relapse and break cycles of substance abuse — one family at a time.
At Wednesday’s graduation, all charges against the graduates were formally dismissed by the District Attorney’s Office."
Collins has now been reunited with her children for over a year, and she plans to attend school to become a social worker.
To date — including this latest graduating class — 405 people have completed the program since it began in 2002.
