“I didn’t have a care in the world about anything or anyone besides myself. I stole, lied, cheated and hurt many people”.
“I had zero relationship with my son and my behavior was so manipulative that the rest of my family and friends had no respect for me anymore.”
“I never thought I would be here graduating the Drug Court program. I was always getting drunk every day and didn’t care about life or my family or kids or how I was hurting them all and myself”.
Testimonials and recovery stories were shared by three individuals who have successfully completed requirements for graduation from the DeKalb County Drug Court Program during a recent recognition ceremony.
The graduates, Michael Briley, Crystal King, and Blake Goad, were presented plaques for their efforts during the program held at the New Life Connection Center in Smithville. Briley, King, and Goad are among 54 individuals who have successfully completed the local drug court program since its inception.
The ceremony, held on Monday July 25, featured remarks from the Honorable Judge Bratten Hale Cook II, a performance by Suzanne Slager of the song “Tell Your Heart to Beat Again,” and a keynote address from Monty Burks, Director of Faith Based Initiatives for Tennessee’s Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.
Drug courts attempt to get at the heart of recidivism with a different tactic that emphasizes recovery over punishment. One of the first drug courts in Tennessee started in Nashville in 1996. Now there are courts that serve 76 counties across the State. According to the DeKalb County Drug Court program it costs about $4,000 annually per participant, while it costs about $20,000 to keep someone in jail.
Most of the drug courts in Tennessee offer similar recovery programs with some varying details in operation. There are now about 3,000 programs across the country. All require participants to be nonviolent offenders, suffer from an addiction and comply with the requirements of the local programs, which by all accounts are demanding. Offenders must first be assessed that they are eligible, and the District Attorney’s offices must sign off. Program participants then commit to four phases of treatment. In DeKalb County, this includes at least a 28-day inpatient substance abuse treatment program, outpatient treatment, individual and group counseling, and they must get and maintain employment, and attend countless 12-step-based meetings such as Narcotics Anonymous. They also are subjected to an unlimited amount of random drug testing all along the way.
“For participants who violate program rules, there are swift consequences, but each case is handled individually,” Norene Puckett, Program Coordinator said. “Some participants cannot handle the rigorous program and ask to be terminated, choosing to serve their sentences in jail rather than submit to the intensive therapy and substance abuse treatment. It’s a very hard program, and it should be. Drug and/or alcohol addiction is something that our participants will have to deal with for the rest of their lives. Eventually they will get that serenity for which they are searching, but that will come only after working hard for it. The drug court program is for people who are ready to make that change,” Puckett said.
The program is funded by multiple sources which include State funded grants through the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, court fees and fines of individuals charged with drug or alcohol related offenses, additional funding appropriated through the County Commission and through donations of time from Judge Cook, the Office of the District Attorney General, the Office of the District Public Defender, Sheriff Patrick Ray, Haven of Hope Counseling and Community Probation Services. If you would like to help support the DeKalb County Drug Court Program, please contact Norene Puckett at 615-215-8690 or norene.drugcourt@gmail.com for more information.
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