Jail feels like limbo for some. It is a place of saving grace for others. It was for Torie McCord.
A married mother of three, McCord had been leading what looked like an ordinary suburban life. But underneath, she was struggling with alcoholism.
“You wouldn’t have known that about me. I hid it,” she said. “I was a functioning alcoholic.”
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The addiction carried on for years — until she received two DUIs and was sentenced to nearly a year in the Putnam County Jail. By completing classes and program requirements, she was released in five months.
Her world had been turned upside down, but jail gave her something she hadn’t expected: time, structure and a path to recovery through Celebrate Recovery, a Christ-centered that First Baptist Church Cookeville has facilitated inside the jail for more than a decade.
The church supports the program by funding materials like books and Bibles and by providing a welcoming community for participants after their release.
Over the years, they’ve seen it bear real fruit. Most recently, on May 2, 30 inmates were baptized. Isaac Nickels, assistant to executive pastor Mike Head, had the honor of leading his first baptism service that day and administering the Lord’s Supper.
“The inmates were genuinely excited,” he said. “You could just see it on their faces — they were so determined to celebrate that moment. It felt very familial, even as an outsider who had never been in that community before.”
Program pods
Part of what makes the Putnam County Jail’s approach distinctive is a housing system called “program pods,” developed by Lt. Matt Stinnett. Rather than returning to isolated cells between classes, participants live together in an open room with communal bunks, which fosters accountability and keeps the work of recovery going between sessions.
“When you talk about doing the lessons during the week, now that they’re in a program pod, they get together as a group and work on them,” said Randy Griggs, who leads the men’s CR group. “Before, you were relying on them to do it alone in a cell. It’s a lot better.”
For McCord, the difference was striking.
“You literally are sitting or laying in your bunk for hours and hours and then your free time you maybe have three or four other women out with you,” she said. “Being in the program pod and having the classes — it’s a whole different ball game.”
Participants in the pod have access to common areas around the clock, which Morgan Abston, public information officer for the Putnam County Jail, described as a meaningful incentive.
“Getting into the program pod gives you hope,” McCord said.
Distinction
The program is explicitly faith-based, and jail officials say that distinction matters. According to Abston, 85% of the jail’s population is incarcerated due to illegal drugs, whether directly or indirectly.
“If you don’t have something with a backbone of faith, your recidivism rate is statistically higher,” Abston said.
Sheriff Steve Farris has made faith-based programming a priority inside the facility.
“Accountability will always come first, but I strongly believe rehabilitation has to be part of the process as well,” Farris said. “When inmates are willing to take steps toward changing their lives through programs like Celebrate Recovery and through their faith, we want to support those efforts.”
That support is visible in how the jail operates. Stinnett, who developed the program pod housing system, said Celebrate Recovery is the longest-running program the jail has offered — and he hopes it stays that way.
“I personally hope it lasts as long as the buildings stand,” he said.
Full story and testimonies from the jail.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Zoë Watkins and originally published by Tennessee’s Baptist and Reflector.
