WATERLOO -- Yeidor Gonzales had tried to put decades of drug and alcohol abuse behind him, but the pull of using was always too strong.

"I knew I wanted to stop," said Gonzales, 43. "I wasn't in an environment where I could get a hand on it."

The start of his salvation came when a friend he was riding with was pulled over by police.

Gonzales, who was actually in a drug treatment program at the time, had methamphetamine in his pocket. He landed in jail with the prospect of going to prison upon conviction.

After a few days behind bars, Gonzales began to think clearly, and he volunteered to be one of the first participants in Black Hawk County's Drug Court Program.

The concept behind the Drug Court project is to plead guilty and stay out of prison by undergoing a regimen of intensive probation, therapy and 12-step meetings.

Now, just more than one year later, Gonzales is the program's first graduate.

"There's a huge difference," said Thomas Bower, Drug Court's judge, comparing a photo of Gonzales when he was arrested in 2005 to his current appearance.

Not only does he look physically healthier, his spirit is also healthy, Bower said during a Wednesday afternoon session that celebrated both Gonzales' achievement and marked the program's one-year milestone.

The much anticipated Drug Court Program began Dec. 8, 2005, with the help of a $447,648 U.S. Department of Justice grant. It has 19 active participants: 12 are working full time, five are in in-patient treatment and two are looking for full-time employment.

Another six participants have been kicked out of the program in the past 12 months, including a man who started about the same time as Gonzales.

The program has received special accolades by the Iowa Governor's Office, and officials from Linn and Johnson counties have taken a peek at the project with an eye toward starting their own, Bower said.

"We are having a far-reaching impact not just in Black Hawk County. We are getting some recognition statewide," he said.

Gonzales, a Michigan native who moved to Texas at age 17, began using alcohol and drugs at an early age. He used marijuana, downers and eventually meth, always chasing the elusive intensity of his first high.

He was sober for three years when he lived in Texas, but he fell back into using.

When Gonzales came into Drug Court, he had a few things going for him. He had a good work ethic and a supportive boss at Community Builders.

His lone infraction while in drug court was driving without a license, for which he performed community service to make amends.

Gonzales' Drug Court goals, aside from staying clear of drugs and learning to cope with problems without using, was to mend his relationships with his children, including two daughters in Texas now in their late teens and early 20s.

"My addiction drew me away from them," he said. "I'm not trying to make up for the years I wasn't there, because I can't do that."

But he does try to be there for them now, talking with them and sending money to help them with their own goals.

Gonzales' next step is six months in "aftercare," which will include supervised probation with the threat of prison still hanging over his head.

He also will start an alumnus group for Drug Court graduates that will offer guidance and support for other participants.

Drug Court is a collaborative project involving the Department of Correctional Services, Waterloo Police Department, Public Defender's Office, County Attorney's Office and Pathways Behavioral Services.

Contact Jeff Reinitz at (319) 291-1578 or jeff.reinitz@wcfcourier.com.