They don't want you to come back. That is the message of an inmate program at the J Reuben Long Detention Center.
According to county spokesperson Lisa Bourcier, J. Reuben Long Detention Center has encountered overcrowded conditions and has entered a major capital expansion because of increased and continued demand for incarceration services. The jail diversion program will divert minor homeless offenders from jail to treatment and training programs.
Director Gareth Beshears said the goal of the program is to stop the revolving door of people who have substance dependence and mental health problems, from returning to jail. "Fifty to seventy percent of the people actually in this jail have those problems and in most cases keep them coming back; they're actually committing crimes to support their substance abuse problems and habits."
Beshears said the program is not just about how to avoid bad habits and avoid returning to jail, but also about changing lives and thought process, something he said may also benefit taxpayers. "We won't have to build more jail cells, in fact the idea is to stop building jail cells, hopefully, secondly it make the community much more safe, because the people that actually will complete this program will actually become productive members of society and not a drain on society."
The program is not for everybody. All interested inmates must meet certain legal and clinical criteria. Beshears said they're looking for non-violent, non-sex offenders who want a permanent life change. Beshears said after completing the program, many of the inmates will need places to live and jobs. He said he's hoping the community will step forward to help them make those things possible.
Bourcier said the inmates in the program will be housed in a section of the minimum security wing at the detention center. The program is funded through a 2008 HUD Community Block Grant for $190,000.
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