May 15, 2020
By: Dwayne Page
A drive through celebration was held Thursday afternoon for five participants of the DeKalb County Recovery Court Program who have graduated and are on the path to sober living.
Each of the graduates, Marina Cornette, Joshua Baxter, Jerry Cantrell, Seth Harris, and Bradley Mullican received a certificate from General Sessions and Juvenile Court Judge Bratten Cook, II in recognition for their accomplishments.
A formal ceremony will be held for them after the COVID-19 pandemic has run its course.
Thursday’s drive through was held in the city parking lot behind the law office of Judge Cook.
Recovery Court, a 12 month program, provides an alternative to incarceration for eligible non-violent offenders, both adults and juveniles, who are deemed substance dependent.
In order to keep tabs on the participants while courts have been closed during COVID-19 , Judge Cook and other members of the team started having Recovery Court outdoors last month.
“This is our 4th Recovery Court drive through for adults and juveniles and it has worked out fabulously. We started the drive through so we could stay in touch with our recovery court participants. Its important for them that we stay in touch and that they stay in touch with us. Actually I think most of them would prefer a drive through rather than coming into court. We enjoy seeing them and they enjoy seeing us. We will keep doing this until we can get the courts opened back up,” said Judge Cook.
In addition to awarding the five graduates Thursday, Judge Cook and the Recovery Court staff checked on several other participants still in the program who were lined up in the drive through while practicing social distancing.
“The judge spoke to each participant who drove through and the team members were also there to speak with them. We checked on them as they went through the line asking questions such as how are you? Is there anything you need? How is your recovery going? What step are you on in the 12 step program? Normal things we would tend to talk with them about except this was a drive through,” said Kate Arnold , DeKalb County Recovery Court Coordinator.
Arnold commended the graduates on their completion of the Recovery Court Program and wished them well.
“This program takes an extreme amount of dedication and hard work, but our hope is that these graduates will take the knowledge and skills that they have learned throughout their time in the program and not only implement it in their life, but to be an inspiration to others,” she said.