On May 10, 2024, 26 residents at CoreCivic's Trousdale Turner Correctional Center in Hartsville, Tennessee, graduated from the first-of-its-kind 12-month substance use recovery and behavioral health program in a therapeutic community setting.

A therapeutic community (also referred to as "TCOM") is a group-based intervention program where individuals who struggle with substance use disorders take ownership of their past life choices and challenges with the goal of changing the perceptions they have about themselves. TCOM includes behavioral management, and intellectual, spiritual, emotional, social, and vocational resources for holistic recovery. Participants in TCOM strive to live a life of sobriety and learn how to be pillars of their new community.

"Never again will I be a puppet, allowing myself to be pulled in every direction, my pride beaten and soiled," said Marcus Boatwright, a TCOM program graduate at Trousdale. "I've been lied to for too long, but I've lied to myself even more. Only when the strings are cut can we stand on our own, and now we truly can, bold and strong."

More than 95 percent of incarcerated individuals will be released and return to their communities. Furthermore, chances of recidivism are lower for individuals who complete programs such as TCOM. 

See media coverage of this graduation HERE.