This is my story

"I have tremendous respect and gratitude for the Franklin County Reentry Team and the services they provide. Successfully transitioning to a new community can be difficult, but with the support and resources the reentry department made available I was able to navigate these rough waters with much greater ease, confidence, and success. I never once felt alone or unsupported in my journey. Today I can say that I am better able to live a life that reflects the best of who I am because of the many resources provided by the reentry team. Their care and dedication have truly made a difference in my life. Thank you"

- Dan

I'm writing with deep appreciation for the FCSO Reentry program. This is coming from a mother of a young man that struggled with opiate addiction for years. 2 years ago my son was overdosing on heroin and disconnected from the family and his son. After a long difficult path of trying to section my son and work with the probation dept. my son ended up in FCHOC. I then spoke daily to Ken Chartrand a Reentry case worker at FC HOC. who helped me get my son into a treatment program. Since that program my son has been clean for over 2 years and has become a trusted, loving father to his son. He continues to hold a full time job, has a apartment with his fiancé and a baby on the way. He continues to keep his body and mind healthy with training in boxing. I really hope this program continues. I would like to Thank everyone involved in my son's sobriety. Thank you! 

-CJ

My name is JM, formerly inmate #XXXXXXXXX. Although that’s certainly not how I would describe myself today. I entered the Franklin County House of Corrections in 2016 to carry out the rest of my 1 year sentence. While there I was a model inmate on the Recovery Unit, active in every service the unit had to offer. It truly was the turning point in my life. The foundation of recovery and healthy living that the Recovery Unit gave me was a last chance for me to turn my life around. Before being paroled my case manager on the recovery unit was able to secure me a bed in a Halfway House in Gardner, Massachusetts. From there I went on to living in a sober house and eventually to living independently.

Today I don’t go by inmate #707495, I go by Counselor JM. I’ve been working at an addiction treatment center for almost three years now. But that doesn’t even scratch the surface of how incredible my life has become. I am a husband, father and a homeowner. I am an honest, respected, and productive member of my community. I am moving towards goals to open and create more sober housing for the next person who needs an opportunity to turn their lives around. 

I will leave you with this. From the bottom of my heart I truly do not think I could have come this far without the help, the treatment, and the care I received on the Recovery Unit of Franklin County House of Corrections.  

-JM

My daughter was in the FCHC due to legal actions. She was struggling with Alcohol Abuse Disorder and needed support to help her get treatment for her addiction. She is a college graduate, and even still, could not have managed the complexities of such a trying system. Your Reentry Program is instrumental in helping those that are not able to maneuver the many demands within a system that is beyond red tape and bureaucracy. The dedicated people within the Reentry Program are pivotal to the successes of each individual who is released back to civic life.  The administrative constructs that accompany this type of release, for many individuals, are daunting, given the potential circumstances of poverty, homelessness, children, and addiction. Post-release has the most significant risk of relapse; therefore, a  successful transition is critical to an individual's chances once back in society.  Your Reentry Program is an answer to this concern and is vital to those who are being released back into the community. 

Your Reentry Program provides support with health insurance coverage, treatment options, rides, follow-up communications, and a guided transition back to a healthy way of life.  Those that have been fortunate enough to receive support from your Reentry Programs professional and dedicated personnel will forever be grateful, I am sure. 

KW

First I would like to thank you for the atmosphere of care, compassion, and concern you and your department has created for those you serve. I truly have never experienced anything like this in all my interactions with corrections and criminal justice. Thank you. I am writing this letter to share with you my experience with the FCSO ACT community reentry group and the re-entry team in hopes of conveying how impactful and transformative my experience has been for me, my family, and my community.

Please allow me a moment to share some of my history with you so you have a better understanding of where I’m coming from. I grew up in a loving but dysfunctional home where abuse, addiction, and chaos were everyday facts of life. As a young teen I began using alcohol and drugs as a way to deal with difficult thoughts and emotions. That approach did not work so well as I began to have many run-ins with police and became a regular client of local psychiatric units. I was an extremely angry person full of pain and confusion. I wanted a better life, to love, to live and work as a caring functioning member of society, but I had no idea how to address the pain and anger that continuously burned in my gut. My addiction and mental health issues continued to grow and the consequences of this grew more and more painful as I grew older. In my twenties I began to seriously seek help. Rehabs, day programs, therapy psych hospitals, and countless AA meetings. I joined a church and committed myself to healing and living a better life, yet despite my strongest efforts my life, behavior, and addiction continued to spiral out of control. Eventually I became hopeless of ever recovering and leading a life that reflected my values. This is when I made choices that were extremely selfish and damaging. These choices landed me in the Department of Corrections for 13 years. My Life was over, so I believed, and I had caused too much pain in the world. All I wanted to do was die. The first few years of incarceration were hell. I spent 1 to 2 weeks in segregation a month for many years due to fights and issues with staff. After many halfhearted suicide attempts and traumatic stays at Bridgewater State Hospital I had had enough.

I decided to try my hand at healing, recovery, and leading a decent life again. That is when I came across an amazing book called Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. In this book I learned to take responsibility for my actions and my life no matter what the external circumstances were, that no matter what the situation or how others treated me I am always free to choose how I respond. I am always free to act in a way that upholds my values and no person or system could ever take that freedom from me. This simple and obvious insight changed my life for the better. I stopped getting into fights and arguing with staff, I joined Toastmasters and learned public speaking and leadership skills, I authored a successful blog from within prison, and I created and facilitated a self-help mindfulness group that ran every week for 18 months. I had finally healed and recovered...or so I thought.

Despite my ability to live a healthier more meaningful life in prison and all the success I had experienced once I was released back into society it was a totally different story. Anxiety, depression, and stress became overwhelming after the initial joy of becoming a free man. Soon I was buried in anger and depression and began to lose hope of ever reclaiming the freedom and success I had gained in prison. This is when my therapist suggested I try the ACT community reentry group that meets at the [local recovery center].

Immediately I could tell that the ACT group was not like any other group, program, or workshop I had ever attended. There was a more relaxed yet focused atmosphere. It seemed more like a group of friends sharing and exploring a new way to live and meet life's difficulties than a class. [The facilitators] did not “teach” us or stand on a soap box. Instead, they were fellow travelers, seeking a better way to live just like us. There was food and a sense of community. For once, the people attending seemed excited to be there and eager to share and explore. The sense of freshness to this approach, the hope it gave me was instrumental in giving me the strength to continue trying and exploring new ways to live.

The skills being shared at ACT, the sense of unconditional acceptance and support, the connections I made, and the continued relationships I have created there have helped me to heal and grow, has given me a place to explore and practice new skills, and a place for honest feedback. Despite my initial difficulties during re-entry, I can honestly say that my life today is more rewarding, table, and meaningful than ever before. My family, loved ones, and friends have all repeatedly told me how well I have been doing and how they recognize the role the ACT group and the reentry case workers have played in this. I am responsible for my life and my current health, but I cannot overstate the impact that ACT group and the re-entry team have on me. Having the reentry case workers available to talk during the week, their willingness to help, their unconditional acceptance and support, their genuine concern and open fresh attitude, the connections, skills and community I've discovered in ACT, the groups support and stories...there is nothing like this anywhere else. The ACT community reentry group and the approach of the Sheriff’s department are shining beacons in a sea of well-meaning departments that just don’t have the skill, ability, or access to have the success that Franklin County has seen. We all need shining beacons to guide us when we are lost and our state's criminal justice system and its approach to re-entry have much to be desired. It would be a shame to lose the one beacon that can give hope and guidance to other departments that have the best of intentions but little knowledge or resources to fulfill those intentions. But this would not be the greatest loss if ACT did not exist….the greatest loss would be for those inmates who sincerely wish to re-enter society and lead successful and meaningful lives. For all the intention, will, and all the effort in the world is not enough for most inmates to succeed with re-entry. We need a community of openness, connection, and support, to come upon re-entry if we are to have any success. This is NOT what most communities offer those returning from prison. All I can say is that I am happy, hopeful, and doing well. This coming from someone with a history of a dozen psychiatric hospital commitments, a long and violent arrest record, and I am required to register as a sex offender. Statistically speaking, I am the least likely to recover and do well and most likely to reoffend, yet I haven't, I’m doing well, and my family and community are safer as a result and I owe a big part of this success to ACT, the reentry team and the Recovery Center community. I know that the communities in Franklin County are safer as a result of these services and the community they have created. Many lost lives now have hope and other counties have a guiding beacon to show them what is possible. Losing these services would be a tragedy as there is no one else currently offering such an open holistic approach.

I want to give my deepest respect and gratitude to the Franklin County Sheriff’s department, the re-entry team, and the ACT community.

Thank you.