JACKSON COUNTY, Ind. — Jackson County Jail leaders announced a new program to treat substance use and reduce recidivism Wednesday.
Jackson County, Indiana Sheriff Rick Meyer said the Medication Assisted Treatment Opioid Program was adopted by the Jackson County Sheriff's Office in partnership with the Indiana Sheriff’s Association.
Jackson County now joins 34 other Indiana counties in offering treatment for incarcerated individuals with opioid use disorder.
“When an individual with a substance use disorder is booked into Jackson County Jail, we’re now equipped with the tools to stabilize them, properly treat their disease, and support them on their path to recovery,” Meyer said.
Since 2019, officials said Indiana has put more than $6 million toward medication for opioid use disorder to incarcerated individuals.
“With more than 80% of individuals in the justice system having a diagnosable substance use disorder, jails are ground zero for helping people restart their lives,” Douglas Huntsinger, executive director for drug prevention, treatment and enforcement for the State of Indiana, said. “Today, Jackson County takes an important step toward improving outcomes and making recovery possible for the incarcerated population.”
Carly Elsner, who is incarcerated in the Jackson County Jail, spoke about her own experience with the new program. She's been receiving treatment since the spring.
"We need to help addicts recover with medicine and knowledge, instead of locking them up and drying them out and sending them back into society with no plan, no resources and no knowledge about who they are [and] what they really could accomplish," she said. "Being on the sublocade shot myself has helped me focus on the next step instead of my next fix. I feel what I believe is normal for the first time since I was 13 when I started using hard drugs."
Jail Commander Chris Everhart said Jackson County is the first in Indiana to specifically use the medication "sublocade" in its MAT program, saying it has shown success in other states.
Everhart said the program began in February. They've treated four people so far.
Jackson County also received a Comprehensive Opioid Recovery Center (C-CORC) grant from Centerstone.
The grant will help provide peer services to Jackson County incarcerated individuals, connecting them to services outside the jail and helping them in their re-entry process upon release.
The release states that the grant is part of a $3.4 million four-year award from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to "provide a full spectrum of treatment and recovery support services to residents in nine Indiana counties."
Jail leaders believe providing both services will help serve people, despite being a smaller area.
"We might be a smaller, rural jail. We have limited resources. But we can still have an impact on our community," Meyer said. "I want to see Jackson County be successful."
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