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Speakers credit Mary Schneider, Don Ash for building Rutherford County's recovery court network; judge cites first nonresidential program in state
Summary
Judges and officials traced the county's recovery court back to a 2000 pilot and credited founders Mary Schneider and Don Ash with expanding services into DUI, mental-health and veterans courts; speakers described the program's effect on families and community safety.
Speakers at the dedication repeatedly credited Mary Schneider and Don Ash with launching the recovery court program, which they said began in 2000 and has since branched into specialized tracks including DUI, mental health and veterans court.
Judge Turner said the program started as a "small seed" and highlighted its expansion, telling the audience that "this small seed, this acorn that was planted has grown to not only a drug court, which we now call recovery court, we have a DUI court, a mental health court, and a veterans court." (Judge Turner)
Judge Don Ash described his first exposure to the model after traveling to Kentucky and attending a graduation; he said he saw "men and women who look just like those people I'd seen that morning had been transformed. They were sober. They had jobs. Families were reunited." (Judge Don Ash)
Speakers framed recovery court as a hybrid of accountability and treatment. Mayor Joe Carr said the program "has saved and recovered hundreds, if not thousands, of lives," language repeated by others to underscore the program's community impact. Officials said the program's record of graduates and family reunifications was a driving rationale for naming the building and continuing financial support.
