Porter-Starke Services, the local not-for-profit community mental health center, has a mission to enhance the quality of life in our community through prevention, treatment, education and research. The organization presents the Service to Community Mental Health Award to individuals in the area who are contributing to that mission.
The Starke County Sheriff’s Office recently won the award for their work with inmates. Sheriff Bill Dulin described receiving the recognition as a huge testament to the hard work the jail and Starke County Staff does on a daily basis that sometimes goes unnoticed.
The Sheriff shared that the Starke County Jail provides inmates with substance abuse and mental health treatment. They also have the chance to work in various programs that assist the inmates with addiction recovery while also providing them skills to become productive members of society once they are released into the community. Some of these unique opportunities include the inmate road crew and the garden and nurturing fathers programs.
According to Dulin, since the program was started a year ago, 116 inmates have completed the intensive rehabilitation and only six have re-offended. Dulled added, “That is proof we cannot arrest our way out of this drug cycle as the only solution but we have to treat the addiction to beat this problem as a county, state and nation face.”
As National Recovery Month comes to a close today, it’s important to acknowledge efforts in place that are making a difference within the community.
