AKRON, Ohio -- Summit County Probate Court designed a program to help individuals and families dealing with long-term mental illness take an active role in their recovery.

New Day Court, the first of its kind in Ohio, provides participants with the tools to navigate support and services to avoid repeat hospitalizations.

The Probate Court released a video explaining how New Day Court works. The video is available to view online at player.vimeo.com/video/250128850.

Individuals participate in the program after they are committed to and then released from a hospital.

"New Day Court is designed to provide support for people while they adjust to [their] medication and encourage them to talk frankly with their doctors and their family members about what they are experiencing," Probate Court Judge Elinore Marsh Stormer said in a news release. "It allows people to remain in the community while they get treatment and begin their recovery process."

People living with mental illness are often resistant or reluctant to obtain treatment, Stormer said. New Day Court helps smooth the transition for those hospitalized under civil commitment maintain the best possible outcome for the individual.

The program was created through a partnership with the Probate Court and the Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board (ADM), Community Support Services and The National Alliance on Mental Illness of Summit County (NAMI).

The resource video walks through the New Day Court recovery process, which includes offering compassionate case management from all providers involved in the individual's treatment.

Stephanie Wintermute, New Day Court liaison, said in the video that she is notified by a social worker when a client is discharged form the hospital.

"Our goal is to keep them engaged as soon as they are released form the hospital," Wintermute said in the video. "They will come in and see the judge. I then also communicate with the agency, the case managers, to see the client's progress."

Wintermute said participants are often confused about what New Day Court is when they initially enter the program, but by the end, many find it a comfort as they transition out of the hospital and back into their communities.

Sean Walker, a graduate of New Day Court, is featured in the video.

"The feeling that someone [Judge Stormer] is actually listening to me makes a really, really big difference," Walker said in the video. "Someone is here that will help. It's not about being vulnerable. Just keep an open mind."

Visit summitohioprobate.com for more information and video resources.

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