Haywood recovery court graduates third and fourth participants
Jennifer received her certificate from Judge Monica Leslie, Judge Justin Greene and Program Coordinator Amanda Seay. Kyle Perrotti photo
There are few, if any, occasions that take place in a Haywood County courtroom that are as joyous as a celebration for someone who graduates from the Adult Accountability and Recovery Court program.
Last Friday, the program honored its third and fourth graduates. Both individuals were joined by family and friends who knew too well how addiction had derailed their lives.
In addition, Sheriff Bill Wilkie, County Manager Bryant Morehead and Commissioner Terry Ramey also sat in the gallery, along with various probation officers who over the years have had their fair share of interactions with the graduates.
The rest of the participants in the program sat in the jury box, speaking lightheartedly about everyday annoyances and lamenting struggles with continued judgment from those who would rather dwell on past failures than celebrate current victories.
It was clear that the individuals in the jury box, most of whom were not so long ago familiar faces in Haywood’s courtrooms and jails, are becoming favorites of those who work at the justice center. One of the first participants to enter the courtroom was greeted by the bailiff, who gleefully asked about the participant’s kids.
Bob Cummings, a peer support specialist who spends time at the jail talking to inmates experiencing addiction, came into the courtroom and asked one of the women in the jury box how she was doing.
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“I’m good,” the woman said, and after a brief pause added. “I’m sober.”
“And you’re smiling,” Cummings exclaimed. “Look at you.”
Through the recovery court program, participants have access to health care, employment and housing assistance. However, they are also subject to intense accountability. They go in front of a judge every two weeks, and they also take drug tests and see a probation officer several times every week. During the early phases, they also submit to electronic monitoring. While slip-ups, including relapses, are expected, if someone isn’t committed to the program, a judge can send them back to regular court and jail becomes an immediate threat, if not an inevitability.
Amanda Seay, program coordinator, began the graduation ceremony, and discussed how important she believes the court to be because it helps individuals while restoring human capital.
“I can see the potential in every [participant], and I think they each have so much to offer,” she said.
Seay introduced District Court Judge Monica Leslie, who presides over the program’s court sessions. Leslie offered brief introductions of the graduates — Jennifer and Heather — who in this story will be identified by their first names only.
“I think Jennifer is probably the most changed from the beginning of this program to now,” Leslie said.
Jennifer had struggled with health problems, and as her opioid addiction worsened, so too did her relationship with her husband, who for a time left her. But through the program and with the help of other community resources, Jennifer found a way out.
“She ended up moving to Pathways and staying there for a long period of time, and that’s where she really started rebuilding her life and going to classes … She has been strong and now she’s a huge support,” Leslie said. “She texts people, she reaches out, she makes sure that everybody’s doing okay. She’s and really encourages everybody.”
Jennifer has now been sober for 14 months and is back with her husband.
Heather’s case is a bit different. She came into the program having already begun her recovery in earnest and is now 18 months sober. Although Heather was on the right track prior to entering the program, she knew she needed something more to achieve lasting change. Friday, Heather was accompanied by her wife, who’s also struggled with substance abuse but is also now sober.
Leslie had praise for how strong Heather was throughout the program.
“She has absolutely killed it … Heather is the hardest worker,” Leslie said.
Heather received her certificate from Judge Monica Leslie, Judge Justin Greene and Program Coordinator Amanda Seay. Kyle Perrotti photo
Perhaps most exciting, Heather is healing important relationships that had been fractured by addiction.
“One of my favorite things has been watching her reestablish her relationship with her teenage son,” Leslie said.
The guest speaker for the event was Samantha Bradley, a Jackson County woman who battled addiction but has enjoyed about a decade of sobriety. She talked about the starting point.
“By 14 or 15, I was using substances recreationally, and at the time, it felt like an escape, relief or even fun. But it didn’t stay that way; it Never does, does it?” she said. “My use escalated over time. What started recreational became regular and then became necessary. I kept it hidden for a long time, but eventually, like so many others, I crossed the line into IV drug use. I chased my drug choice into places I never said I would go. I did things that I said I would never do.”
Bradley found her rock bottom when she wound up in jail, where she learned out she was pregnant with her drug dealer’s baby. She became emotional as she talked about overcoming her addiction, a process that took years and plenty of relapses.
“As always, cravings hit,” Bradley said. “I’m craving like mad, but I don’t want to be another statistic. I don’t want to be that chronic relapsing. I want to be a chronic overcomer, because I can do this right.”
Bradley said that the thing that ultimately saved her was medical assisted treatment using Suboxone, which blocks opioid cravings. While she acknowledged that such treatment may not work for everyone, she credits the medication for her long-term success in recovery.
Her ultimate message was simple yet poignant.
“The small daily practice of doing the next right thing, and then the next one, and then still doing the right thing when no was looking, it has taken me to where I am,” she said.
The final speakers were the graduates themselves. First up was Heather, who described the depths of despair her addition led her to.
“I remember walking down the road just out of the hospital after overdosing whenever I was searching for my next fix,” she said. “So, you know, just feeling that like, what if I wouldn’t wake up next time? And then just being lonely all the time. My wife, she had been sober for some time and was trying to get me to go to some kind of inpatient treatment, but I was terrified, you know what I mean?”
Heather talked about getting sober and going to meetings in Buncombe County, but the real challenge came when she returned home to Haywood, where all the people she used to use with still live. But despite her shame, guilt and fear, Heather pressed on.
“I was able to start working and being able to be a part of my son’s and parents’ life again,” she said. “Then I started seeing people I used to run with, and some of them were coming a long way, too, and that made me want to do better … Here I am a year and a half later.”
Next, Jennifer spoke. Her addiction began in 2008 when she was in a car wreck and subsequently prescribed opioids for a long-term course of opioids. She became addicted and struggled for almost two decades. Along with the program, Jennifer credited her sobriety to the support of her husband and other family members.
“I’d never be where I am today with you, and I love y’all,” she said.
The recovery court began in Haywood County as a pilot program funded by the state; however, as part of the agreement, it was understood that the county would have to provide the money to continue the program after a year of operation. Last month, county commissioners agreed to do just that, appropriating $140,000 to keep it going.
Leslie has said before that she considers presiding over recovery court to be one of the most satisfying parts of her career on the bench, and she told The Smoky Mountain News that, despite the challenges, it just keeps getting better.
“We provide one-on-one support and direction that a lot of other programs can’t provide,” Leslie said. “And we’re thrilled that the county sees the value in what we’re doing.”
Judge Justin Greene also presides over recovery court sessions. He said that just sitting there in court and listening to Jennifer and Heather tell their stories should be enough for people to realize the importance of the program — it saves lives, restores families and strengthens the community.
“You hear these stories that these folks tell, the steps that it takes to get to recovery,” Greene said. “it’s so difficult for folks to get there, and this is such a big help to get to sobriety from a point where people are just in really bad shape. It’s very necessary for the health of the individuals and the community,”
