Homeless in Arizona

Over the years the "War on Drugs' slowly morphed into a government welfare program for the people involved in fighting it. That includes cops, judges, prosecutors, probation officers, public defenders, prison guards, drug testing companies and businesses that treat drug abuse.

I'm sure Sherry Henson and the folks at Terros Health are nice people who want to help people with drug problems. But still they are part of the problem because they get their bread and butter from the "War on Drugs" in the form of government grants which are given to them to help the government wage it's "War on Drugs".

If the "War on Drugs" ended, folks like Sherry Henson who get paid with the government "Drug War " money would lose their high paying jobs helping the government fight it's war on drugs and would be forced to find real jobs in the private sector.

There is no question that drug abuse does harm some people and destroy lives. But the "War on Drugs" harms far more people and destroys far more lives then the actual drugs do.

It's time to legalize ALL drugs.

In this editorial, or My Turn article, Sherry Henson of Terros sounds like she is begging for more "drug war" money.

Source

My Turn: What has worked to keep former inmates out of prison

Sherry Henson, AZ I See It 4:28 p.m. MST May 11, 2016

My Turn: Only 4 percent of Maricopa County inmates commit new crimes after participating in a program that helps them rejoin society.

Recidivism is a complex, somewhat foreign idea to most of us. This is probably not surprising.

How many of us ever get close enough to prison or jail once, let alone enough times to fit the description of recidivism?

Yet, recidivism is something most agree is critical to prevent. The implications of multiple stints in jail or prison are far-reaching and often destructive to families, businesses, communities, and state and federal budgets.

According to the National Institute of Justice, recidivism refers to "a person's relapse into criminal behavior, often after the person receives sanctions or undergoes intervention for a previous crime."

To bring greater attention to this national challenge, the U.S. Attorney General has designated this week as National Re-entry Week. The goal to create awareness about the need for more programs to help individuals successfully re-enter the community after jail or prison and, as a result, never go back behind bars.

About two years ago, Terros Health received a grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration to help reduce recidivism in Maricopa County, and it created the Bridging the Gap Offender Re-Entry program. The program — participants must meet certain qualifications (male, moderate to high risk of re-offending, is a substance user or have a mental health diagnosis) — has proven effective in reducing returns to prison on commission of a new crime, with the rate of recidivism for those who have completed the program at just 4 percent.

Program helps inmates rejoin society

Here is how the program works: Prior to an inmate's release, an intervention team creates a service plan to help the individual re-engage with the community by finding work, connecting to a supportive social network and receiving, if necessary, mental-health and substance-abuse-disorder treatment.

Using the evidenced-based "Thinking for Change" cognitive-behavioral curriculum, as well as other cognitive-change therapies, the team helps individuals change their lives by changing their thinking and actions. The service plan also includes teaching individuals how to conduct effective employment interviews, find supportive housing, pay bills and develop other habits of sustainable, self-sufficient and productive living.

To date, the Bridging the Gap Offender Re-Entry program has helped more than 137 individuals re-enter the community.

It also has saved the state millions

According to the Federal Register, for fiscal year 2014, the average cost of incarceration in America, per individual, per year, was $30,620 — thus, saving our state millions of dollars by keeping these individual from returning to prison.

Although our program has made a dent, to reduce Arizona’s recidivism rate even more, we need more support for re-entry programs, as well as diversion programs for individuals who suffer from substance-abuse disorders, which too often can lead to jail time.

Our governor seems to agree. In his 2016 State of the State address, Gov. Doug Ducey announced his plans to address drug abuse and addiction by focusing on prevention and early intervention.

“Substance abuse and addiction isn’t someone else’s problem — it’s Arizona’s problem, and it’s a growing national crisis,” Ducey said. “We must work together to raise awareness, to educate our communities and to reverse this silent but severe epidemic.”

I agree. If we work together and focus on prevention and re-entry, we will not only help reduce substance abuse and addiction, but likely impact recidivism as well, and help more Arizonans lead productive, satisfying and inspiring lives. This is an idea we can all understand and support.

Sherry Henson is the vice president of clinical standards at Terros Health, a non-profit, integrated health-care company, which specializes in addiction, crisis and mental-health-recovery services in Phoenix, Tucson and Flagstaff. Email her at Sherry.Henson@terros.org.