‘This saved my life’ - Mother overcomes addiction through Eaton County Drug Court

LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - Anastashia Elliot, a graduate of Eaton County’s Drug Court, expressed her deep appreciation for the program, emphasizing its role in saving her life and reuniting her family.

Elliot’s remarks came during a ceremony held by the court today to honor individuals who diligently worked over the past two years to transform their lives and avoid incarceration. She hopes her ability to triumph over addiction will inspire others facing similar challenges.

“Well, it wasn’t a difficult choice because my only other option was prison,” Elliot said. “It was an easy choice. I decided to participate in this program to stay with my family and make the necessary changes to become a better person and parent.”

For Elliot, the prospect of both her and her husband graduating from drug court was unforeseen. However, she now considers it one of the best decisions of her life.

“He graduated a year before I did and at first, they weren’t allowing us to have contact so we weren’t allowed to speak to each other. We had to go to family counseling, we had to gradually build up that relationship for them to know that we were safe to communicate with one another,” Elliot said. “It really just made our bond a lot stronger because we had to go through those hoops it made us stay together and stick it out and just realize that we want to be together and this is what we want as a family.”

Anjil Tyler, Elliot’s mother, said her daughter’s addiction impacted their entire family.

“This has been a very long road. I’m so happy I could be here to love her when she couldn’t love herself and that is so much about what drug addiction is. It’s kind of hiding from those deep feelings you need to work on,” Tyler said. “A lot of those times we weren’t able to talk about those things and now we can, we have a very open relationship and I am just so ecstatic to have my daughter back.”

Elliot is now dedicated to her career, aiming to assist individuals facing similar circumstances while prioritizing her family.

“I just want to say to my son, ‘I’m never going to miss another baseball game again,’” Elliot said. “To my mom, thank you for always loving me, when I couldn’t love myself.”

According to the Michigan Supreme Court, graduates of adult drug court programs, such as the one in Eaton County, are three times less likely to be convicted of a new offense within three years of admission to the program.

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