Three people took a major step forward in their recovery journeys Nov. 20, when friends, family, treatment team professionals and drug court participants packed the Heritage House on the Chardon Square to celebrate their graduation from the New Leaf Program.
Three people took a major step forward in their recovery journeys Nov. 20, when friends, family, treatment team professionals and drug court participants packed the Heritage House on the Chardon Square to celebrate their graduation from the New Leaf Program.
The program offers an alternative to prison for some people charged with drug-related offenses, aiming to help them get back on their feet and reduce recidivism.
Geauga Common Pleas Court Judge Carolyn Paschke introduced the three graduates: Jesse Gandee, Kendra Renko and Nazario Mendez.
Jesse began the program in 2022 at age 19, Paschke said, adding she feels he has grown up with the team.
He also helped get his older brother, recent New Leaf Program graduate Joseph Gandee, into the program, she said.
“One time, we were in drug court and he came to me and very sincerely and tearfully said, ‘Will you help my big brother,’” Paschke recalled. “And I said, ‘Well, does he have a case in our court?’ And Jesse said, ‘Yes, he does.’”
Joseph raised Jesse and the two lived out of their car at one point, she said.
“Jesse really had a rough road early in his life and I think that’s what makes his transformation even more meaningful, even more impactful, is that he overcame that,” she said.
He now works as a cook at Zeppe’s Pizzeria, participates in sober volleyball and is a model resident at the sober house where he lives, she said.
“I think the thing I’d like to say also about Jesse is how proud I am of him that he never gave up and that he’s always trying to have a positive attitude, even when things aren’t going that great,” she said.
Jesse thanked Paschke, recalling her support at his lowest moments; Specialized Docket Coordinator Maureen Maruna, whom he said never gave up on him; and Geauga County Probation Officer Greg Potts, whom he described as a father figure.
“This program gave me life and I didn’t know what living life was like, or what living life was worth. My brother said it first, but if he can do it, if I can do it, then anybody can do it,” he said, referencing his brother’s graduation speech.
“Better late than never, right kid?” Joseph said as he took the microphone.
Joseph recalled raising Jesse when he was 19 and his brother was 8.
“There are days I was ready to give up and he was the reason that I didn’t. You deserve a chance at life and I want to be around to see you have it,” he said.
Renko began the New Leaf Program in 2023 and has worked to overcome a number of serious challenges from her past, Paschke said.
“Kendra has also had a long road through our program and there have been some ups and downs, but she’s always shown progress and she’s always shown a willingness to keep trying and keep working on herself,” she said, noting Renko’s commitment to honesty, even when it was difficult.
Paschke recalled a story Renko told her about spending Christmas of 2023 at the Northeast Ohio Community Alternative Program, a community-based corrections facility, while pregnant with her youngest daughter.
“One of the things she told me she thought about was, she wondered if I baked for the participants for Christmas,” Paschke said. “She mentioned how much she likes my seven-layer bars that I’d made for them in the past.”
In celebration of Renko’s graduation, Paschke brought seven-layer bars to the ceremony.
“Kendra, you’ve grown so much. I think back to the person who started our program and the person sitting here today, and I’m so proud of the woman sitting here today,” Paschke said.
Renko thanked her treatment team for supporting her, even when she struggled, as well as her mother.
“She gave me unconditional love, even when she didn’t understand what was going on. And it was tough love at first, but that NEOCAP in December, I got a letter from her for Christmas and it was probably the best gift I’ve ever gotten,” she said.
Mendez’s case began with an overdose on the shoulder of state Route 422 when he was 20 years old, Paschke said.
Mendez’s public defender, Stephen Szendrey, fought for him to be placed in the New Leaf Program despite being uncooperative at first, she said.
He has since completed multiple treatment programs and has been building a positive life — working toward his General Education Development certificate, obtaining a driver’s license and truck, and creating a landscaping business, she said.
Even with the positive steps forward, life continued to throw other hurdles Mendez’s way, Paschke said, including a fire that displaced him and his fiancee and the death of his father earlier this year.
“Those things were really challenging to him and those are things that happen in life, having nothing to do with our recovery, but those are challenges that are difficult for anyone at any time and the fact that Nazario was still relatively early in his recovery, I’m really proud of how he handled those challenges and how he stepped up and was a leader for his family and for the people who needed him,” she said.
Paschke added she feels she has also watched Mendez grow up and is proud of him.
Mendez said he would not have been able to face the challenges he has without his family’s support.
“With my dad passing away, that was the hardest thing that I’ve ever had to face and the decisions I’ve had to make, but you know in the end, I had a strong circle around me to keep me motivated towards the goals I had in mind before that situation,” he said.
More information about the New Leaf Program is available at https://courts.geauga.oh.gov/new-leaf-program.
