His back was mostly to the crowd. James Knuckles wept as he was comforted by supporters.
Moments before, he was standing side-by-side with Magistrate John Sampson, all smiles as he held a certificate showing he’d graduated from the 4th Circuit Veterans Treatment Court.
Then Knuckles was asked if he’d like to say a few words.
His face wrenched slightly and he took a few steps, briefly looking around. He was holding back tears that couldn’t be contained.
He let it out, turning his back to the quiet crowd that looked on with a mix of understanding, pride and heartache.
Sampson stood by with another person, consoling him during the emotional moment before Bryan Garringer jumped up and rushed to the front of the room.
“I met James a year ago,” he began.
Garringer, Knuckles’ mentor in the Office of Public Defender, recalled being asked to take on a “special project” regarding the chief petty officer who needed help. Although he said he hesitated for a moment, it was smooth sailing.
“I’ve never had a single problem with this guy,” he said. “Always on the ball.”
Knuckles had used the services the program provides, made it through the program and now the “whole world is looking up.”
Applause followed. Knuckles stepped outside to catch a breath of air.
He hadn’t said a word during his presentation.
Darryl Woods did, though.
He told the crowd how he appreciated the services and team that helped him overcome “the bumps and bruises” through the process. They were the “couple of swift kicks” he needed, he said.
His drinking had led to DUI arrests. In the past, he’d always tried to work the system to get out of trouble, Woods said. But the veterans’ court was different. It offered those needed kicks.
“It’s helped me out a lot,” he said.
The program started in Duval County in 2012, but wasn’t implemented until October 2013 with the help of a Department of Justice grant.
The court-supervised treatment program targets active or generally honorably discharged military with substance-abuse problems and documented mental health diagnoses. It’s modeled in the same vein as the adult and teen drug court programs that utilize treatment, mentors and testing as an alternative to incarceration.
It’s currently providing services to 40 veterans and celebrated the success of 15 others.
One of its bigger supporters was in attendance to see the graduations but also to receive an award for his dedication to veterans.
U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw, R-Fla., received the National Association of Drug Court Professional “All Rise” Leadership award specifically for his support of drug- and veterans treatment courts. It was presented to him by Melissa Fitzgerald, senior director of Justice for Vets, a national advocate for veterans’ treatment courts.
“To hear the work they’ve done … that makes it all the more worthwhile,” Crenshaw said, referring to seeing firsthand Knuckles and Woods graduating.
Fitzgerald, an actress known for her role on “West Wing,” noted the graduation’s timing coincided with commencements at high schools and colleges, saying “not one of them is more important than the graduation happening here.” Across 320 programs in the country, 11,000 veterans are receiving similar help. Her goal is even more.
Veterans who are helped end up making the rest of the community “rise” in different ways. Woods, for instance, is doing another graduation May 22. That one will be Everest University, followed maybe with a career in marketing.
Soon after the ceremony, Kenneth Arnold, River Region senior director of intervention services, stopped to offer congratulations.
“I guess we won’t be seeing you anymore,” he said, with a smile.
“Not that way anymore, no sir,” Woods responded.
He’s been sober for more than a year, now with an eye on the future.
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