LAUDERDALE COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) — A new social services program in the Lauderdale County Detention Center allows qualifying inmates to receive help and guidance when it comes to substance or drug use.
Down the hallways inside the Lauderdale County Detention Center, several inmates are housed for various crimes, but a new social services program will allow some of them to get help.
Ginifer Fowler, the Director of Lauderdale County Social Services, told News 19 how the program works.
“We identify individuals who are currently incarcerated and may be eligible for substance use treatment,” Fowler said.
However, it’s not for everyone who is serving time.
“We don’t work with anyone in this program who has been charged with a violent crime, who has been charged with any sort of sexual abuse crime,” Fowler said. “We really are looking for individuals who are here because of relatively low-level crimes, public intoxication, sometimes possession charges.”
Here’s how it works. Each inmate who is booked into jail is asked to answer questions. Fowler and her team check to see if they are qualified to get help.
“We’re able to get them assessed, and then if the courts are in agreement, then we can actually find them placement and help get them to get to the treatment. So connect them to treatment and transportation and help them get started,” Fowler said.
The program is made possible by opioid settlement money from the state. Fowler said that so far, they have assessed over 276 incarcerated inmates. Sixty-five inmates have been released from jail and put into treatment, 18 have been connected to treatments, and the program helped 220 inmates sign up for health insurance.
“It’s very cool to watch somebody go from being very reserved and kind of not wanting to talk to me and be a little apprehensive to becoming more comfortable with me to help me get into a treatment program,” Fowler said.
The program is not only to ensure the community is safe and healthy, but also that the inmates are staying safe and healthy when they are released from jail.
Fowler said that she is working to get treatment and rehab resources inside the jail, but is unsure when that will be.
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