‘This program saved my life’ | Meet the group of inmates overcoming addiction

By Sam Harasimowicz

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    LAWRENCEBURG, Indiana (WCPO) — Behind the doors of the Dearborn County Law Enforcement Center, there are two pods — one for a group of men and another for a group of women.

This section of the jail is the home of Dearborn County’s Jail Chemical Addiction Program (JCAP), led by director Tisha Linzy.

The county’s website describes JCAP’s programming as “cognitive behavioral, evidence-based treatment groups for the chemically dependent incarcerated population.”

On July 30, I saw the program in action and sat in on a morning of treatment for the male inmates, sitting down with inmates Brian Offill and Steven Couch.

“I’ve been battling with addiction for a long time in my life,” Offill said.

“I was like, ‘I’ll never get help … I don’t need it. I don’t need recovery. I don’t need treatment.’ But now that I’m in here, like I said, I realize I do need it,” Couch said.

I saw the group go through an honesty worksheet, talking through their past struggles and trauma.

“We laugh together, we cry together, we go through emotions together,” Offill said.

I first met with the JCAP team in early July when the program hosted a special art show at the Lawrenceburg Public Library.

Linzy told me how she approaches helping each of the men and women who find themselves in JCAP.

“It would be easy to sit here and just pat them on the back, and let them, you know, say whatever, but we challenge them to make sure they’re using those mental self-control skills and they’re using what we’re teaching them,” Linzy said.

Offill told me he thanks JCAP for all the strides he’s made.

“This program saved my life,” Offill said. “These facilitators and these women believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself.”

JCAP’s director explained to me that inmates receive actual treatment inside the jail, including cognitive behavioral therapy.

Once an inmate completes the program, they are provided with an individualized aftercare plan, regardless of what their next chapter holds.

Offill told me he’s ready for what’s next.

“I know that there’s a chance I’m going to prison — I’m probably going to prison, but it’s going to be OK,” Offill said. “It’s not the end of the world. I’ve never in my life been this happy, man; it’s a beautiful thing.”

In fact, he said he hasn’t been “this proud” of himself in a long time.

“I wish there were still people today that would be around to see me this way, but the people around me seen a change,” Offill said.

During my trip to the Dearborn County Law Enforcement Center, Linzy also introduced me to Dearborn County Sheriff Shane McHenry, Judge Sally McLaughlin and Indiana State Representative Garrett Bascom.

The local leaders discussed how JCAP and prioritizing recovery efforts have helped the entire community.

“You introduce one person to recovery. Now they get their friend like, ‘Hey, this is how well I’m doing. I want you to do well.’ And then it becomes a thing where you’re building on that,” McHenry said.

WCPO 9 is committed to finding and highlighting solutions to substance abuse in our area.

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