Another nine Starke County Jail inmates have graduated from the voluntary drug treatment program offered in partnership with Porter/Starke Services. The grant funded program launched last September for men and women with a history of substance abuse problems who are awaiting sentencing.
It’s separate from the Indiana Department of Corrections Therapeutic Community, which is also based at the local jail. That program is for area inmates who have been sentenced to the intensive rehabilitation program while in prison.
Participants meet several times a week with coordinator Leo Smith from Porter/Starke and members of his staff. Their final assignment was to write a goodbye letter to their addiction and read it to their classmates and members of the law enforcement and corrections community at the ceremony.
Daniel Allen says he’s learned addiction is a disease.
“For the last 15 years my addiction has ruled my life and made me more miserable than I ever thought was possible. It took me further than I ever wanted to go, cost me more than I wanted to pay, and kept me longer than I ever wanted to stay. It makes me sick to wonder what my life could have been without addiction and to realize all the potential and opportunities I’ve thrown away.”
Allen says he’s got a plan for the first time about how to live a sober life after he is out of jail.
Trenton Mullet admits he got lulled into a false sense of security by his addiction only to realize the light he was following was leading him into a deep, deep darkness.
“I’m not alone anymore. You are strong, but we are stronger. I won’t forget what we’ve been through. I will use what you’ve taught me against you. I will go on with my life and tell others just how sneaky and dangerous you are. I just pray that God will grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Amen. Goodbye, addiction.”
John Schacht has struggled with alcohol and drug addiction for many years and says the goodbye to his addictions and criminal behavior is long overdue.
“I’ve learned how to stop and think before I respond. I’ve learned how to decipher my defects, avoid the triggers, and change my thinking before the thought or the situation to use or negative acts come about. So my once friend to the end, this is the end. Thank you.”
We’ll hear from all of the program graduates on Sunday’s Kankakee Valley Viewpoints pubic affairs show. It airs at noon CDT on K99.3 WKVI FM.
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