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MINUTES <br />ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH <br />October 23, 2013 <br /> <br /> Page 2 <br />Panelists: <br /> Lamar Proctor, Jr., Senior Assistant Orange County District Attorney <br />Mr. Proctor has been with the Orange County District 15B District Attorney’s <br />office since 2004. Prior to coming to North Carolina, Mr. Proctor served as <br />the Assistant District Attorney in Brooklyn New York. He has extensive <br />experience as a prosecutor from these two roles, including work in homicides, <br />domestic violence, and property crimes. Mr. Proctor has served on the <br />Governor’s Crime Control Commission and as an instructor for Family <br />Violence Prevention in Orange County. He is the past president of the <br />Orange County Bar Association in 2011. <br /> <br /> James E. Williams, Jr., Orange County Public Defender <br />James Williams has been the Orange County Public Defender Attorney for 22 <br />years. He is a graduate of Duke, both undergraduate and law school. He <br />serves on a variety of professional boards and commissions, including the <br />North Carolina Commission on Racial Disparity in the Justice System and the <br />North Carolina Advocates for Justice Taskforce on Racial and Ethnic Bias in <br />the Legal System. <br /> <br /> Trish Hussey, Executive Director of Freedom House Recovery Center <br />Patricia “Trish” Hussey is the Executive Director of Freedom House Recovery <br />Center. For 40 years, Freedom House has provided services to help people <br />with addiction, mental illness, and developmental disability. They provide <br />residential crisis services, outpatient substance abuse and mental health <br />services, transitional living, and extended care. <br /> <br /> Courtney Kennedy, Orange County Drug Treatment Court Coordinator <br />Courtney Kennedy has been the coordinator of the Orange County Drug <br />Treatment Court since 2003. The program provides options for families who <br />have lost custody of children due to substance abuse, and individuals who <br />are facing jail time for substance abuse. The goal of the program is to help <br />substance abusers get treatment and free up resources from being used in <br />court costs and incarceration. Ms. Kennedy provides client counseling, <br />oversees drug screening, provides summary reports to the presiding judge, <br />and maintains community partnerships for funding and other support for the <br />program. <br /> <br />Summary: <br /> The panel discussion was streamed live on twitter and can be found on the <br />Orange County Health Department’s “YouTube” channel at the following link: <br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aQr7D0nXf8 <br /> The discussion centered around the following main points: <br />o Substance abuse is a family issue. <br />o Substance abuse and crime are linked in a feedback loop that leaves <br />people with few life options.