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The Hamblen County Third Judicial District Felony Recovery Court held its first graduation ceremony Thursday afternoon.

Many local leaders and government officials attended the graduation to honor Serena White, the court’s first graduate.

The ceremony was held at First Baptist Church and a meal was catered by Good Ole Days, which is an employment partner for the program.

Penny Knight, Recovery Court Coordinator, described the creation of the program.

“Our recovery court was created in December 2020 in response to the continuing growing threat to our community of substance abuse disorders that we know destroy lives, break up families and are a tremendous cost to society.”

Knight explained how the program is run and what participants experience as they work towards recovery.

“After spending six months developing our program we had our first participant join the program in June 2021, since that time we have added 36 participants and maintained a 75% retention rate,” she said. “Our program is a voluntary program. It’s voluntary treatment based program that provides intensive treatment, intensive case management and intensive supervision.

“The program is approximately 18 to 24 months and consists of five phases, but the program length can vary depending on the participant’s compliance.”

She explained the mission of the court is to help individuals battling substance issues.

“The mission of the Third Judicial District Felony Recovery Court is to help to restore justice involved with individuals with substance use disorders to become conductive members of our community.”

Beth Boniface, Recovery Court Judge, welcomed attendees to the court’s first graduation.

“We want to welcome you all to our first graduation, but we want to assure you this is not the last,” she said. “We will have another graduation sometime in the fall and we will hopefully have 12 graduates, but we didn’t find it fair to have Serena wait.”

Boniface then began to discuss White and how she watched her shine throughout her time in the program.

“When Serena first entered our program it was as if someone dimmed her inner light that you could barely see it,” Boniface said. “She was anxious, sad and very shy.

“Over time in the program and putting in the great effort it takes Serena started to glow. Her inner beauty started to grow bright and stronger. Now you almost have to wear sunglasses because she shines so brightly.

“Serena has overcome enormous tragedy and trauma in her life, she did not shy away from the healing process. She combated her demons head on and has gained a sense of peace.”

Hamblen County Mayor Bill Brittain, presented a proclamation to White for her great accomplishment of graduating from recovery court.

“You are the newest rock star in this community because of what you accomplished and the hard work you’ve put in,” Brittain said. “We would like to present this proclamation on behalf of the mayor’s office and the county government.

“Whereas the recovery court began enrolling participants in June 2021 with Serena White being among one of the first to apply and being accepted and whereas early in recovery Serena struggled with anxiety rooted in trauma and loss she experienced at a young age.

“And over time with the help of the recovery court team, her music and poetry Serena was able to replace her anxiety with a message of hope and peace as displayed in her poem titled “My Incomparable Soul.” Whereas her recovery progressed and Serena was able to start her own business to begin living independently and repair broken and damaged relationships.

“Therefore it be proclaimed that I, Hamblen County Mayor Bill Brittain and the Hamblen County Legislative Body celebrate Serena White as she becomes the first to graduate from recovery court; we call upon all of the residents of our community to join with us to congratulate Serena for her tremendous accomplishment.”

White thanked everyone in attendance and credited the court for helping her with her recovery.

“Thank you so much for standing with me throughout this process,” White said “With the court’s help I have the tools to deal with my trauma. This program has saved my life. Recovery court is my saving grace and I’m so proud to be a part of this group.”