Each September, we get a chance to celebrate something so powerful that we often lack the words to describe the experience. Few things in life are as astonishing, as inspiring, as transformative as recovery from addiction. Recovery Month gives us the opportunity to stop, look around, and appreciate just how much recovery has impacted us; some personally, some professionally, many of us both.

As a person in recovery, the first treatment court graduate to serve on the All Rise Board of Directors, and one of the founding members of the National Treatment Court Alumni Association (NTCAA), I want to take a moment to say thank you to each and every one of you working day in and day out to serve people with substance use disorders in your community. There are so many pathways to recovery, and you provide a vitally important one in the justice system.

You may not always see it, but by advocating for the justice-involved, believing in second chances, and holding out hope that people can and do change, you are breaking down the stigma and other barriers that keep people from achieving their full potential. In this way, recovery is really a springboard that launches us onto a new trajectory, and the best part is watching just how far we can go.

This month, those of us at All Rise and the NTCAA hope that you find a way to honor your participants and alumni, and celebrate recovery with your court and community. Click below to learn more about Recovery Month, find local events, and download helpful graphics and toolkits from Faces and Voices of Recovery.

Abby Frutchey, L.M.S.W., L.A.D.C., C.C.S.
Abby Frutchey is a 2006 graduate of the Washington County Adult Drug Treatment Court in Maine. She is the Substance Use Response Coordinator for Community Caring Collaborative and has 12 years of experience practicing as a licensed substance use treatment provider and clinical supervisor, specializing in treatment of those involved in the criminal justice system. Mrs. Frutchey has worked with the Washington County Adult Drug Treatment Court in Maine since 2012 as both a treatment provider and clinical supervisor. In 2020, she became the first treatment court graduate to join the All Rise Board of Directors. She is the vice chair of the National Treatment Court Alumni Association, working to increase efforts to support treatment court alumni across the country. She holds a bachelor’s degree in human services management and a master’s degree in social work. Mrs. Frutchey resides in Maine with her husband, Brian, who is a 2009 treatment court graduate, and their three children.