Partners for Progress is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization headquartered in Anchorage that works to support therapeutic justice throughout Alaska's criminal justice system. One focus of Partners for Progress has been the Startup Fund for participants in the Anchorage and Fairbanks Wellness Courts. The Wellness Court is a jail diversion program offering intensive substance abuse treatment and community supervision to support the participant’s abstinence and recovery.
Participants in the Wellness Courts must pay for their own food and shelter, as well as meet the requirements of the court to attend treatment and sobriety groups and maintain employment. If they are addicted to alcohol, they generally must take a medicine that quells their craving for alcohol and pay for a device that monitors their sobriety.
The Partners for Progress Startup Fund provides money for housing, food, bus passes, medicine, monitoring and other essentials to participants who are making a good faith effort to follow the court-ordered treatment program to gain and maintain sobriety. The Wellness Court Team and Partners for Progress work together to assure that funds are not used as a substitute for employment nor where other public or private resources are available to the participant.
