by Rachel Petty
L to R: Daniel Bains, Recovery Court Case Manager; Judge Michael Collins, Recovery Court Judge; and Shanda Key, Recovery Court Coordinator
The Smith County Misdemeanor Recovery Court is a state-funded program that provides assistance and resources to misdemeanor offenders in the 15th Judicial District who are severely addicted to drugs or alcohol.
The Recovery Court program was started in Smith County by Judge Michael Collins in February 2015. Since the program’s inception, 11 people have successfully completed the requirements for graduation. Nine others are currently participating in the program.
According to Recovery Court Coordinator Shanda Key, the mission of the program is to “assist with the intervention, treatment, and rehabilitation of nonviolent drug offenders who desire to change their lives and break the cycle of drug dependency.”
Recovery Court is available to misdemeanor offenders who have been revoked to serve, have no violent charges, no drug sales charges, and are struggling with substance use disorder. Potential participants complete an application and a series of assessments that take place in the jail. Participants are then selected by the Recovery Court team.
The program typically lasts 12 to 18 months. During that time, participants progress through four intense phases designed to establish a pattern of sobriety. Each phase, which lasts approximately 90 to 120 days, offers an increased level of freedom to the participant.
In the first stage of the program, participants undergo inpatient treatment and are required to wear a GPS device that monitors their compliance with an established curfew. During phase two, participants are required to attend three NA or AA meetings per week, and they are allowed to choose when and where those meetings take place. Phases three and four focus on rebuilding social relationships, meetings with designated sponsors, paying off court-ordered fines, and seeking gainful employment or completing community service.
In order to progress from phase to phase, participants must continuously pass random weekly drug screenings.
The program offers both incentives, such as a notable accomplishment prize drawing each month, and sanctions, such as spending the night in jail or wearing an ankle monitor, depending on participants’ behavior.
The program is designed to be as meaningful as possible to each participant.
“We really focus on treatment and try to get to the root cause and treat that in order to reduce the recidivism rate and the relapse rate,” Key said.
To be eligible for graduation from the program, participants must obtain a job and a stable housing arrangement. The program also aims to help participants with transportation resources.
Thanks to state funding, the program is offered at no cost to the participant. This allows participants to focus on other expenses involved with rehabilitation, such as rent, court costs, and fees associated with regaining a revoked driver’s license.
“Our program guides them and provides them with tools and resources that help them become productive members of society,” Key said.
Key believes that this program benefits the community as a whole by taking community members who would otherwise be a drain on county, state, and federal resources and equipping them with tools to help them stimulate the economy and break the cycle of drug addiction and criminal activity.
Currently, the Recovery Court program focuses only on high-risk, high-need individuals due to funding constraints. Key and Recovery Court Case Manager Daniel Bains would love to see the program grow so that it could help an even greater number of people.
“We would like to someday offer our program to someone who is not in jail,” Bains said.
Key and Bains think that catching people earlier in the cycle of substance abuse disorder could make an even more significant impact on the community.
They also emphasize how important it is for community members to spread the word about the Recovery Court program. Currently, Key and Bains are focusing on ways to change the negative reputation that the program has among inmates in jail.
The Recovery Court program happily accepts donations, and there are many opportunities for volunteer service for the organization. For example, volunteers are needed to assist participants with transportation to and from mental health facilities for therapy or even to and from the courthouse for weekly meetings. Key said, “Even one night a week for one participant would help.”
The most important thing that community members can do, Bains and Key stressed, is to encourage the people around them, work to build up participants in the Recovery Court program, and try to see these individuals as more than stereotypical drug users. The Recovery Court program is difficult, and it takes personal dedication and an extreme commitment to sobriety for a participant to complete the program.
“If you see these people out in public, tell them good job,” said Bains. “Tell them, ‘Hey, I’m proud of you.’ Until someone has went through addiction, they have no idea how hard it is to change your life back to how it was before.”
One easy way that community members can encourage participants is through the Smith County Misdemeanor Recovery Court’s Facebook page. Updates about participants’ progress are frequently posted, and an encouraging comment on a post could make a difference in a participant’s day and even their life. You can find the link to the Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/smithcountyrecoverycourt/.
“If someone that’s not involved with our program gives them a compliment, that’s going to be huge for them,” Key stated.
Community members can also show support to the Recovery Court and its participants by attending an upcoming graduation ceremony that is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on May 30, 2018, in the General Sessions courtroom in Smith County. This ceremony is open to the public, and a lunch reception will follow. Judge Michael Collins will be presiding.
By participating in the program, the upcoming graduate has found a job, rebuilt relationships with family members whom she had lost contact with, and regained custody of her four children. The whole Recovery Court team and the graduate’s family are incredibly proud of her accomplishments.
The Smith County Misdemeanor Recovery Court office is located on the 3rd floor of the Historic Smith County Courthouse at 221 Main Street N. in Carthage, Tennessee.
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