Middlesex Vicinage Recovery Court Celebrates 23rd Graduation

The Middlesex Vicinage is set to hold its 23rd recovery court graduation on Monday, May 1, at 10 a.m. Criminal Presiding Judge Colleen Flynn will welcome the graduating class and deliver introductory remarks. Superior Court Judge Robert J. Jones, who presides over the vicinage's recovery court, will officiate and discuss the long-term success of the program.

The keynote speaker for the event is Valerie Seymoure, a minister and author of "Fish Heads & Grits," a book filled with stories of encouragement and hope. Through her organization Beauty for Ashes, Seymoure helps individuals struggling with addiction, homelessness, domestic violence, and other life challenges.

The Judiciary's recovery court program operates within the Superior Court to address nonviolent drug-addicted offenders. The program requires participants to complete several phases of intensive drug and alcohol treatment and recovery. Recovery court programs are rigorous, involving intensive probation supervision, treatment, frequent drug testing, and regularly scheduled court appearances.

Since the inception of the vicinage's recovery court program in September 2004, over 550 participants have graduated, and more than 30 children of participants have been born drug-free. The program currently has over 225 participants.

The graduation ceremony will be a hybrid event, with an audience in the jury assembly room of the Middlesex County Courthouse in New Brunswick and live-streamed to the public on the New Jersey courts channels under Middlesex.