Recovery Court grads celebrate new lease on life
Recovery Court grads celebrate new lease on life
By Logan Watson
More than a year of hard work, dedication and self-evaluation paid off last Thursday night, as five more men and women stepped out of the darkness of addiction and into their new lives thanks to the Milan Recovery Court program.
Lisa Bell, Evelyn Curtis, Carl Glidwell, Chrissi Roney and Dillon Selph celebrated a milestone on their road to recovery, joined by their friends, family and a support network of police and officials that stand behind them instead of in front of them.
“I’ve seen a lot of folks come through our back door,” said Milan Police Chief Bobby Sellers, as he spoke to the graduates, “but putting these people in jail isn’t going to solve their problems. What they’ve been through, what they’re going to face in the future, it won’t be easy. Just remember where you were and where you are now and be strong.”
The road to a clean life is a long one, full of judgment and self-doubt, but according to keynote speaker Pastor Nathan Young, the key to staying on the path lies in the graduates understanding themselves. A former alcoholic and drug addict himself, Young has walked that same path.
“We’re all messed up. Every one of us,” Young told the crowd gathered inside the Vineyard Church chapel. “What you think is what you will be. You have to grow from the inside out. If you don’t change on the inside, you will revert back to your old self.”
Pastor Young stressed that graduates needed to approach their new lives with the right attitude and not to mask their pain, lest they become overwhelmed by the pain of their old lives.
“Your scars are trophies,” Young said. “They show that something hurt you, but it did not end you. Pain has a place in life. We have a tendency to put on masks to hide that pain and stomp it down. Remember to count the little successes. This is just the beginning. Your road doesn’t end here.”
RECOVERY COURT GRADUATES (from left) Lisa Bell, Carl Glidwell, Chrissi Roney, Dillon Selph and Evelyn Curtis turned over a new leaf last Thursday night, graduating from the Milan Recovery Court program after more than a year of hard work and dedication to staying clean. Photo by Logan Watson.
