Nathan Campbell had a simple, direct message for the first pair of graduates of the Union County DWI Treatment Court last week: "There is life after drinking and drugging."

He should know.

Campbell said he graduated from a similar intensive drug treatment program in upstate New York six years ago when he was 29, following an arrest on felony charges related to bad checks. At the time, he said, he had been using cocaine and crack cocaine throughout his 20s, and had started drinking and smoking marijuana at age 13.

Now Campbell is on the board of a new foundation created to help ensure the survival of the Union County DWI program. The Monroe man also runs a horseshoe business and leads a 12-step Christ-centered program called Celebrate Recovery at Weddington's Southbrook Church.

"The biggest gift I have is my sobriety," Campbell said. Without it, he knows he wouldn't have his wife, his kids, his business or his home.

Union County started the DWI Treatment Court through its District Court last year. The program is for people with at least one prior DWI conviction, and roughly 125 of the 1,100 DWI defendants that pass through the district court each year could be eligible for the program.

Offenders still serve time in jail, but also go through the 12- to 18-month intensive treatment program in lieu of prison. People participate in more than 90 hours of outpatient treatment and are subject to warrantless searches for illegal drugs or alcohol, curfews and frequent, unannounced Breathalyzer tests.

They also regularly are back in court for the judge to review their progress, and are rewarded when doing well and sanctioned if they are not living up to their obligations.

The program scheduled a graduation ceremony last week to coincide with National Drug Court Month. About 2,500 drug courts operate in the United States. Nationally, about 75 percent of people who complete a drug court are not arrested again, court officials said.

The Union County DWI program's first two graduates are men in their 50s; one is a welder and the other is a former white-collar worker at a food distribution plant, said Katie Walter, coordinator for the DWI court and the county's 5-year-old Family Drug Treatment Court, which works with substance abusing parents in danger of losing their children.

In addition to last week's graduates, 10 others are in the program now.

A $350,000 grant from the U.S. Justice Department helped establish the DWI program, with funding through September 2013.

A foundation was recently formed to help replace federal dollars with grants and other funds. The group had its first meeting in late April and will work to get official nonprofit status from the IRS, said Martha Sue Hall, the Union County family court administrator who helped set up the program.

In addition to Campbell, other foundation board members are: Michael Hucks, who has previous nonprofit board experience; the Rev. Kenneth Thomas with Bethlehem Presbyterian Church in Monroe; Stella Brown, county Register of Deeds employee; Superior Court Clerk J.R. Rowell; Jarrod McCraw, Union County schools safety and security director; Wingate Commissioner Brent Moser; and substance abuse therapist Michael Brown.

Ex officio members are Walter, Chief District Court Judge Hunt Gwyn and Superior Court Judge Chris Bragg.

Campbell said he was humbled to be asked to serve. He wants people going through DWI court to know they are not alone.

"I want to give them hope there is a better way, and that they can feel at peace buying into the fact that other people get through it. They can too."