June 1, 2025 • 48 mins
In this episode of Beyond Substance, hosts Dean Babcock and Jodi Miller explore how the criminal justice system—particularly county jails—can be a surprising gateway to recovery. Through conversations with Kelly Gunn, Director of Jail Programs in Hamilton County, and Jennifer Bella, a peer recovery coach who found hope behind bars, this episode examines the transformation possible when dignity, support, and structured programs are prioritized. Together, their stories highlight the intersection of incarceration, trauma, and recovery—and the systems working to bridge the gap between punishment and healing.
Segment 1
Kelly Gunn, Director of Jail Programs in Hamilton County, shares her experience running recovery-oriented reentry services inside the jail. She outlines the shift in local policy that now keeps many level-six felony offenders in county jails, creating a need for more structured, rehabilitative programming. Gunn highlights Hamilton County's TOWER program and the women’s Launch Hope initiative, which provide therapy, life skills, employment support, and community-based reentry services. She emphasizes the importance of voluntary engagement and ongoing support beyond incarceration, and how partnerships with nonprofits, employers, and treatment providers help build a system of hope.
Segment 2
Jennifer Bella’s powerful personal story reveals a recovery journey that began during her 16-month incarceration. After years of abuse, addiction, and multiple felonies, she was introduced to Launch Hope in the Hamilton County Jail. With the support of peer mentors and Jodi’s Refuel Wellness program, Jennifer has found her purpose. Today, she is a peer recovery coach, helping others through the same system that once held her. Her story is a testimony to what happens when people are met with trust, tools, and belief in their worth. Takeaways
00:00 Opening Reflections and Data Overview
03:43 Introducing Kelly Gunn and Hamilton County Programs
06:42 The Need for Structured Reentry Support
09:32 Partnering with Other Jails and Expanding Services
12:57 Launch Hope and Refuel Wellness
18:23 Medication-Assisted Treatment and Harm Reduction
21:26 Measuring Success Beyond Recidivism
24:44 Jennifer Bella's Story: Loss, Addiction, and Incarceration
30:28 Transformation Through Launch Hope
34:14 Reentry, Peer Coaching, and Continued Barriers
41:08 Stigma, Determination, and a Message of Hope
46:51 Looking Ahead
Podcast Information
Hosted by Dean Babcock and Jodi Miller
Interview Segment Producer: Angela Shamblin
Personal Story Producer: Shawn P Neal
Executive Producer: Shawn P Neal
Mixed at AvoCast Studio236
Episode Hashtags
#BeyondSubstance #RecoveryBehindBars #LaunchHope #PeerSupport #SubstanceUseRecovery #HarmReduction #ReentryPrograms #TOWERProgram #AddictionRecoveryStories #CriminalJusticeReform #PublicHealthInJails #IndianaRecovery #NaloxoneSavesLives #MATPrograms #StigmaFreeRecovery #RefuelWellness #JenniferBella #ShawnPNeal #AdvoCast #CommunityHealing
Segment 1
Kelly Gunn, Director of Jail Programs in Hamilton County, shares her experience running recovery-oriented reentry services inside the jail. She outlines the shift in local policy that now keeps many level-six felony offenders in county jails, creating a need for more structured, rehabilitative programming. Gunn highlights Hamilton County's TOWER program and the women’s Launch Hope initiative, which provide therapy, life skills, employment support, and community-based reentry services. She emphasizes the importance of voluntary engagement and ongoing support beyond incarceration, and how partnerships with nonprofits, employers, and treatment providers help build a system of hope.
Segment 2
Jennifer Bella’s powerful personal story reveals a recovery journey that began during her 16-month incarceration. After years of abuse, addiction, and multiple felonies, she was introduced to Launch Hope in the Hamilton County Jail. With the support of peer mentors and Jodi’s Refuel Wellness program, Jennifer has found her purpose. Today, she is a peer recovery coach, helping others through the same system that once held her. Her story is a testimony to what happens when people are met with trust, tools, and belief in their worth. Takeaways
- Jails can become a starting point for recovery with the right programming and support.
- Hamilton County’s TOWER and Launch Hope programs provide holistic, trauma-informed care inside jail walls.
- Jennifer Bella’s story shows that recovery can begin in jail—with the right support system and structure.
- Programs like Suboxone and Vivitrol are essential tools for safe transition out of incarceration.
- Peer mentors and post-release support are key to reducing recidivism and sustaining recovery.
00:00 Opening Reflections and Data Overview
03:43 Introducing Kelly Gunn and Hamilton County Programs
06:42 The Need for Structured Reentry Support
09:32 Partnering with Other Jails and Expanding Services
12:57 Launch Hope and Refuel Wellness
18:23 Medication-Assisted Treatment and Harm Reduction
21:26 Measuring Success Beyond Recidivism
24:44 Jennifer Bella's Story: Loss, Addiction, and Incarceration
30:28 Transformation Through Launch Hope
34:14 Reentry, Peer Coaching, and Continued Barriers
41:08 Stigma, Determination, and a Message of Hope
46:51 Looking Ahead
Podcast Information
Hosted by Dean Babcock and Jodi Miller
Interview Segment Producer: Angela Shamblin
Personal Story Producer: Shawn P Neal
Executive Producer: Shawn P Neal
Mixed at AvoCast Studio236
Episode Hashtags
#BeyondSubstance #RecoveryBehindBars #LaunchHope #PeerSupport #SubstanceUseRecovery #HarmReduction #ReentryPrograms #TOWERProgram #AddictionRecoveryStories #CriminalJusticeReform #PublicHealthInJails #IndianaRecovery #NaloxoneSavesLives #MATPrograms #StigmaFreeRecovery #RefuelWellness #JenniferBella #ShawnPNeal #AdvoCast #CommunityHealing
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
[Music]
(00:04):
Stories connect human beings to human beings.
[Music]
As we realize that our experiences are uniquely our own.
And yet somehow, apart of the bigger picture.
These are the stories from a community that is building hope through recovery by going beyond substance.
(00:28):
[Music]
Hi, I'm Dean Babcock.
And I'm Jodi Miller.
We're the co-hosts here on the Beyond Substance Podcast.
In a lot of our previous episodes, we talk a lot about people entering their recovery journey through professional treatment, through the medical system, through the emergency room.
And this time we're going to look at how people enter their recovery journey through the criminal justice system.
(00:54):
And in particular, a county jail.
That's right, Dean. Today we're featuring two meaningful conversations that speak to the challenges and the hope.
Found at the intersection of incarceration and addiction recovery.
I'll be speaking with Kelly Gunn, director of jail programs in Hamilton County.
She shares her insight into the prevalence of substance use disorders among inmates.
(01:19):
And the critical role of structured support and community engagement in recovery, both inside and outside the jail walls.
And I'll be introducing Jennifer Bella, whose personal story of loss, addiction, and eventual transformation in jail shows the power of support, self-belief, and second chances.
(01:42):
Her journey reminds us that recovery is possible, even in the most unexpected places.
Together, these conversations underscore the importance of holistic programming, peer support, and the commitment to treating individuals with dignity and compassion.
Whether you're tuning in as a provider, an advocate, or someone walking the path of recovery.
(02:04):
We hope this episode brings you deeper understanding and renewed hope.
Now let's begin, as always, with Angela Shamblin, taking a look at the numbers.
Thanks, Jodi. Today we're taking a closer look at addiction and recovery programs that are happening right inside our jails here in Indiana.
(02:25):
The Indiana Commission to Combat Substance Use Disorder runs an online tool called the Next Level Recovery Data Dashboard.
According to their 2024 numbers, there were over 44,000 drug-related arrests in the state.
Those arrests involved about 38,000 people.
The most common substances linked to these arrests were alcohol, marijuana, and methamphetamine.
(02:48):
Drug-related arrests made up about 27% of all arrests in Indiana, based on data from the state's arrests dashboard.
The good news is that there are some strong programs in place to help people who get arrested for drug-related offenses.
One standout is called IRAX, which stands for Integrated Reentry and Correctional Support.
It's designed to help people recover and successfully re-enter their communities after spending time in jail.
(03:14):
In the first half of 2024, IRAX served more than 6,600 people.
The program reported a 63% success rate, and only 13% of those who went through it ended up getting arrested again.
It's also been shown to reduce serious incidents in jails, lower stress for correctional officers, and improve participants' mental health.
(03:36):
Right now, IRAX is up and running in 7 Indiana counties, and 14 more are working on launching their own sites.
That's it for our Data Segment. Now let's hear from our first guest.
(04:00):
As Jodi and I talked about in our introduction, today we're going to be taking a look at some issues related to the criminal justice system and how that impacts with people who have substance use disorders.
So Kelly, why don't you take it away?
Sure, thank you, Dean. My name is Kelly Gunn. I am the Director of Jail Programs at the Hamilton County Jail.
(04:23):
My background is primarily criminal justice and social work. In the past, I was a corrections officer here for Hamilton County, as my first delve into this field.
And then I've been a state probation officer in Florida, and I've worked at mental health facilities with at-risk families in the city of Indianapolis.
And then in 2018, I came back to the jail setting to be in charge of reentry programs.
(04:48):
Can you share with our listeners kind of from your perspective how you feel criminal justice system interfaces with people with substance use disorders?
Sure. So in our jail, I would say probably 75 to 80% of our inmates and the people we serve have substance use disorder or charges stemming from substance use disorder.
(05:12):
So it is very rare for me to deal with a person in our building that has not been affected by substance use disorder or is not currently experiencing that.
Wow, that's a pretty high percentage. How can that time that someone spends in a jail served to help people make positive changes in their lives both during their stay and following up upon their release?
(05:38):
Well, there's kind of a twofold answer to that. So number one, the jail has to offer quality opportunities, programming, educational setting, type opportunities for the person to really work on themselves and better themselves, learn coping skills, get mental health,
and trauma related treatment, peer recovery, coaching, employment skills, and readiness. And our jail fortunately has quite a bit of that.
(06:02):
So number one, the jail would have to offer those services, which not all jails do. And number two, the person would really want have to want to be engaged in that.
We don't require programming here. It's all voluntary. So we want the person to be ready and invested in themselves and have a desire to do some things differently to break this cycle of incarceration that they're experiencing and to make positive changes for them and their families.
(06:30):
So you kind of mentioned that some jails may provide such programming and some don't. Can you share with us kind of what the difference is and like who makes that decision?
In the past, many people did not believe in the powers that be, if you will, administrators, sheriffs, et cetera.
It did not necessarily want to invest in programming or believe in it because the typical house seeing like amount of time we have is three to six months for a person. And so, and that depends on a lot as well, bail, sentence modifications, things like that.
(07:05):
So in the past, it wasn't necessarily something to invest a lot of time or effort in because people weren't in our buildings for very long. But legislation changed a while back and DOC sentence inmates were serving their level six felony time here in our jails opposed to going to DOC.
And so that is really when we as the Hamilton County Jail started to look at, okay, these people would have historically been sentenced to Department of Corrections and had a ton of different program opportunities and educational opportunities and treatment opportunities.
(07:35):
But now they are being housed in Hamilton County Jail or other local jails to alleviate prison overcrowding and they don't have that many opportunities.
So we as a jail started to look at, okay, we're housing these people longer term and we really should be investing in them as people and giving them the opportunity to work on themselves to better themselves to spend their time effectively in the jail to really set them up for success when they leave.
(08:01):
And I think in many ways, I've always, in the time I spent working in the psychiatry and whatever is like looking for what are those opportune times when sometimes you have a captive audience that can be taken advantage of to actually provide things that people may not, if they were on the outside may not necessarily enroll in or whatever.
(08:24):
So I think it's a great opportunity for folks to take advantage of. And you know, and the Beyoncé's podcast really looks at the whole state just not one county and whatever and our guests come from all over the state.
So it sounds like you're doing a lot in Hamilton County. Do you know of other counties that are doing like great jobs with their programming that you'd like to share with us that you're aware of?
(08:51):
Yeah, so Porter County in Northern Indiana actually was kind of a mentor to me when I started to look at expansion of services and programs in our jail, they have a therapeutic community cell block for men and also a faith based cell block for men that has a variety of different programs they have to offer.
So back in 2019, I believe it was I went up to their jail and spent the day with their program director and toward their cell blocks, their therapeutic community cell blocks and saw some of their programming and really had great conversations with Jay Berkey there about the different, you know, programs they had to offer where their funding came from the why behind what they were doing.
(09:34):
So they really mentored me as I started these things for Hamilton County. I'm also familiar with some other jails in the state doing J cap programs which I believe are a grant funded program.
They do a lot of peer recovery support and some life skills programming and some other services and I actually was just a ball state at a conference a couple weeks ago in the Delaware County J cap program presented.
(09:59):
And it was really impressive to see what they're doing actually that they have people that had served time in their building now as the peers going back in. So that was really impressive to me.
Could you walk through a number of the programs that you offer in Hamilton County and the range of things that people may get help with while they're spending time with you?
(10:21):
Sure. So we have our flagship program that started back in 2016 is called tower. That's a men's reentry program and that acronym stands for transitioning opportunities for work, education and reality.
That program started out being federally funded and it was merely just nice and I shouldn't say merely it was important and served its purpose, but it was an employment readiness program.
(10:43):
So eight weeks of going through how to teach them to do resumes and interviewing skills and elevator speeches, employment etiquette, all things surrounding employability.
I came into this role in 2018 at the end of that grant funding and I started to have conversations with our administrators here at the jail about how do we not only sustain what we have currently, but how do we expand it?
(11:10):
Employability is important, but it's one very small part of reentry and I would argue it's the easiest part of my job as far as case management and making referrals.
Getting people employed luckily in this day and age especially in Hamilton County and Central Indiana, we're very blessed to have quite a few employer partners that are willing to look at people with criminal histories and see them as human beings who need an opportunity to be paid well to support them in their families and to learn a career or skilled trade.
(11:39):
And so we have a lot of really great employer partners, but like I said, that was just one small part of reentry. So in 2019, we started to organically and slowly add more services.
So now, fast forward to 2025, we have a cognitive behavioral therapy component, so individual and group therapy.
We have financial literacy, we have a fatherhood engagement component, we still have the employability program component and that's actually now a partnership with Ivy Tech.
(12:08):
Who comes in and teaches that we have an A-A-N-A class for our tower participants.
We have individualized case management and transition planning, so we sit down with them and create a transition plan and make appropriate referrals to social service agencies and treatment providers to get those services set up before they leave.
And I will say that the most unique part of what we do is that they have access to myself as their case manager and our therapist Patrick upon release for as long as they're willing to engage at no cost to them.
(12:40):
So they can stay engaged with us, receive individual and family therapy, receive referrals and social service support beyond their stay in our building.
And so that really sets us apart as far as that ongoing support to these men and women that we serve.
I think that's absolutely great.
Thank you. And I will say at the beginning of that program, we did not have a therapeutic community cell block, but over the years I realized how important that is for the people that we choose to be in our program to live in communities together, practicing the life skills and things they're learning in therapy together.
(13:17):
And so now we do and have had since 2000 and late 2019, a cell block where 12 men per quarter live and engage in our program and practice those life skills and things are learning and therapy.
And that particular piece has been really impactful because they are kind of turning off that negative chatter that they might hear in general population from people that are not necessarily ready for that type of life change or really ready to kind of work on themselves individually.
(13:46):
And so it's a group of like-minded individuals who are vetted and chosen to be a part of the program and they really kind of build a little pro social network and family while they're in here because they are expected to practice the things that they're learning in therapy.
So the anger management and conflict resolution and healthy communication, living in that cell block together.
(14:09):
How does the whole community participate when it comes to helping inmates in Hamilton County?
So we could not do what we do without partnerships.
I am one person serving a couple hundred people a year and even that doesn't scratch the surface of how many people in a year come through a building.
But we partner with Good Samaritan Network, which is a not for profit here locally that provides us with clothing and emergency housing and food and hygiene products and bicycles for people upon their release.
(14:42):
We partner with Invest Hamilton County, which is our local economic development council.
They actually fund our Ivy Tech Employability Skills program.
So they fund that for us in order to give that to the guys that we serve in our tower program.
But we partner with Centier Bank, who offers the financial literacy component of our program.
We partner with local treatment providers, so many, many different treatment providers in the state actually who will do assessments for people whether that's phone or virtual.
(15:12):
We'll get them referred to treatment so they have their first appointment setup or if they're eligible for some sort of inpatient or residential program, we'll have that set up for them upon release.
We also partner with our local trustees offices to provide some of that emergency shelter and food and clothing and hygiene products, those emergent need type things for the people we serve in the building and also their families on the outside.
(15:36):
Wow, that's really a great constellation.
And what other kind of programs or other activities are kind of focused specifically for those who might have a substance use disorder.
So I would say that all of our programming has components that address people experiencing substance use disorder.
We aim to be very holistic and well-rounded in the things that we offer because again we understand that someone experiencing substance use disorder.
(16:04):
That's probably one of many issues that they're experiencing in their life, so because of substance use disorder they may be under-employed or unemployed.
They may be unhoused or have housing instability, they may have food insecurity.
There's a lot of different things that come into play when you're struggling with substance use disorder.
And so our women's program launch hope, which Jody is a part of, we have three components to that program.
(16:28):
We have a sewing skills program that's teaching them how to do a tangible work skill, but also the projects that they complete in that particular component of the class get donated back into the community.
We have an entrepreneurship and business component to that program that curriculum was created by Ivy Tech and Butler University to teach women about how to potentially start their own businesses.
(16:51):
Jody's component of the program is called refuel wellness, and so that's a peer recovery component as well as a wellness component that teaches the ladies how to care for their mind, body, and spirit in a healthy way.
So those three components together again we're trying to be very well-rounded in addressing mind, body, spirit.
And so we offer those three things and they have to to attend all three. So they're getting all of that in one program. And like I said substance use disorder is one part of these women's life and story, but we want to make sure we're equipping them to be successful in other areas of life and to help build up and encourage them that they have value worth strengths and abilities that they may not have recognized previously.
(17:36):
It's one of those things that they kind of touches everything. So thank you for taking a very kind of comprehensive, so we say kind of approach to the folks needing help there.
One of the things that we've learned that people who have opioid use disorder in particular may be a greater risk for overdose upon leaving incarceration.
(17:59):
And that is kind of known from a phenomenon called people kind of losing their tolerance. And so they may leave either a hospital or they may leave a jail or they may leave somewhere where they've had a period of abstinence and then go back and use at the same level they were using before may may result in an overdose.
How are you helping alleviate that risk?
(18:24):
Our jail is now offering a pilot program to offer oral nal-trek zone to people that qualify for that. So that is new within the last couple weeks in our jail.
So starting them on oral nal-trek zone to help with those cravings for opiates and to you know work with the chemistry of the brain to help just alleviate those those wants for that substance.
(18:48):
And also have a suboxin program inside of our jail. So if someone is coming in to serve time in our building and they're already on a suboxin prescription as long as that is active, they can still receive that while they're incarcerated.
We are working on revamping our Vivitrol program right now. We will link people to the Vivitrol injection for the day of release.
(19:11):
So they will get it will make an appointment with a treatment provider in the city or town where they're going for that day of release so they can leave our jail and go immediately to get the Vivitrol injection.
But we are trying to revamp our program to be able to offer that to appropriate people the week before they leave.
So giving them that first injection the week before they leave and then setting them up with that subsequent appointment for 28 days later.
(19:35):
And then we do a lot of linking people to treatment providers like I mentioned so getting them set up for outpatient services or individual therapy or residential or inpatient treatments.
Whatever the appropriate level of care is for them. So we'll make those referrals from the building will will facilitate those phone and virtual interviews will get their acceptance letters for them to submit to court so that they are set up with those services before they ever leave.
(20:03):
When you look at the interventions that you were all providing of being kind of successful.
What kind of things do you do you think we should focus on?
So I believe that numbers obviously tell a story but anecdotal data to me speaks more to the success.
So things like maintaining recovery being active in the recovery community completing treatment being reunified with their families, rebuilding relationships and restoring relationships, maintaining gainful employment, housing stability, mentoring others and sponsoring others in the recovery community and giving back in that way.
(20:43):
There's quite a bit that can be shown to be successful not just a statistic that they didn't come back to the jail in X amount of days.
I really believe that we are chipping away at a lifetime of circumstances and trauma and things so we are we're planning seeds.
We're never going to change somebody. I don't have the power to change anyone but I am planning seeds and chipping away at some things and teaching them and giving them opportunities that they may never have had before.
(21:12):
They really be impactful in their life and then that ongoing mentorship and case management is also very important that they recognize and realize that they have a team of people that are rooting for them and supporting them and they don't have to do it alone.
So for people either in Hamilton County or outside Hamilton County if individuals have a family member or a friend that happens to be in jail.
(21:37):
How do you think they should go about kind of investigating whether or not there may be positive programs?
I would say calling the jail directly on behalf of their family member and asking what programming is provided.
Most of the time whether jails offer treatment programs or life skills programs or not, they usually at the very least will have a high school equivalency faith-based programming and then AA or NA.
(22:02):
Making sure that you know your loved ones who are currently incarcerated are aware of those things but also just asking the jail do you have these things to offer?
Do you have mental health staff on site? Do you have a map program?
Yeah, I mean knowledge is power so if your person that you love is incarcerated and they're not sure and no one's really answering questions for them then I would certainly suggest calling the jail and speaking to somebody that is of rank or administration to get that information.
(22:31):
Kelly, we always ask every guest if there's a message that they would like to share with our listeners. If you have one what would that message be kind of coming from you?
The people that we serve in this building and other jails in our states are there are neighbors.
They are people that have souls and worth and value and strengths and talents and gifts and abilities and they deserve to be served and given opportunities and encouraged and educated and provided with things that will help them on this journey and that will help like propel them in their life to do things differently and to make better choices.
(23:14):
Again, we can't do it for anyone, right? We all have loved ones in our lives that we probably really wish they would make a different choice or we could help them on a path and help make different choices for them but that's not reality.
So what we can do though is come alongside of them meet them where they are support them love them encourage them and help them to understand what is out there for them.
(23:36):
A lot of people don't understand or know that these things exist and so just having the knowledge that there is a community and a body of people that want to come alongside of them in this valley of incarceration that can really feel like you can't get any lower but honestly these opportunities for support and education and ongoing reentry services really are a light of hope for people.
(24:02):
So that would be my message that there are neighbors already they live in our neighborhoods they're going to your churches and work with you so why not be the person that could be a catalyst for change and help encourage them to do that.
[Music]
(24:43):
When we talk about addiction we often focus on the behaviors or the consequences but behind every story of substance use is a deeper story of loss, of pain and sometimes of love.
Today you'll hear from Jennifer Bella a woman who's journey through grief abuse addiction incarceration and ultimately recovery reveals not only the depths of despair but the resilience it takes to come back.
(25:15):
The thing that led me to the substance use started about roughly the age of 30 when I lost my mother. I think it's just kind of lost my mother who was also my best friend and it just kind of broke me and started making some really bad decisions with the people that I was surrounding myself with and the relationship that I was in.
(25:43):
I ended up in a relationship with a very abusive man who was also in a DNA and had it only as addicted to correct cooking.
He abuse started in about two years in his relationship with a man who was using drugs that meant three years ago. In her 30s really the loss of her mother and trapped in a violent relationship, Jennifer was searching for anything that could have known the pain.
(26:17):
That search led to crack cocaine, a choice that changed everything.
I was living in the weekly stay hotels. I had kind of cut off, well pretty much cut off from all family members and I had started in the abuse and then just got worse during the addiction.
(26:51):
About a year and a half, almost two years into the addiction, I actually did leave my ex, my abuser got sober shortly for a very short period of time.
Then got pulled right back in. I had put him in jail for domestic violence and then I bonded to him out.
(27:13):
We went to get away that high. It's just crazy how the substances and the manipulation happens in your head. I eventually did leave him and then I was an addict with no family.
I've been cut off from all my friends. So the people that I considered my friends were now my using friends or dealers.
(27:37):
Eventually I met another man that I got into relationship with who was also a crack addict as well. He kind of swooped in, got me off the streets, provided a place to stay.
All these great things and he was actually ended up being even more an abuser in my life than my previous relationship was.
(28:03):
To survive, Jennifer turned to stealing merchandise, what's known on the streets as boosting, trading it for money or more drugs.
She was trapped in an endless loop of manipulation and violence. Her relationships revolved around addiction and abuse and still there were moments of trying to get out.
(28:26):
She'd have periods of recovery and then fall again. The cycle repeated until it didn't.
My abuser at that time had called the police on me knowing that I had a warrant up in Hamilton County for theft.
He had mad at me for something, money, drug related and had called the police knowing that I had a warrant and actually turned me in after he had beaten me.
(28:55):
He had beaten me up that day.
So I ended up going to Mary and County jail. I was on Mary and County probation so I stayed there for a short period of time.
I was going to get violated and then I was taken up to Hamilton County jail.
When they gave me my charges, my list of charges, I had a list of 12 felony thefts through Hamilton County jail.
(29:29):
They had caught us in one store, figured out through either license plate, something, but they figured out who I was and then connected us with other instances in the area.
And so instead of just one charge, I now had 12 charges, all felony. I was in Hamilton County and I was not going to get released with 12 felony thefts. They were going to keep me.
(29:58):
That arrest would become a turning point, but not for the reasons you might expect.
In Hamilton County, Jennifer was held, really held for the first time. No early release, no drop charges, just time.
(30:19):
Time to think, time to breathe, time to decide if her story would end up where it was or begin again.
And someone in that jail, another woman just like her, told her about something called launch hope.
(30:40):
She'd been there for about a month and a half. She was also involved in substance use without alcohol. She was in there for a DUI.
And she was ready to change. She's actually the person that told me about these classes called launch hope in the Hamilton County jail.
(31:03):
It's about a, you know, building a business. And then they had sowing at that time and they eventually brought in the refuel wellness with the, the health and wellness part as well.
But she actually got me started in that and she was a really big influence to get me started and get me to connect to the women that I need to get connected to.
(31:31):
For 16 and a half months, Jennifer stayed in jail. The classes offered gave her the opportunity to learn emotional regulation through a mindfulness program called refuel wellness.
She was taught life skills, business planning and even sewing, but most of all she was reminded daily that she mattered that she was worth showing up for.
(32:00):
And when her release date came, someone was there.
I was told that one of my instructors was going to be there, but making that step and actually having that hope that they were actually going to come and then having them actually having her actually show up.
Like it was it was a scary step. It was a really scary step because I trusted these women, but at the same time I'd been in this protected environment that whole time.
(32:31):
So stepping out like they had me. I was put into a hotel room. I was taken to get clothes. I walked out with nothing but the clothes on my back.
I couldn't go back and get anything that I had because everything was my abuser.
So like I literally had to walk away from everything and come out with nothing and they were there for me every step of the way.
(32:56):
I got me into sober living, went to a couple different places, but the second one that I went to was a good fit for me stayed there.
And I just got my feet back on under me again.
You know, it's one of the scary things and one of the hardest things is I can come out of jail and know that I want to change, but not have the support to do it.
(33:20):
And that's what those jail programs did for me is the support did not end when I walked out of jail.
The support still hasn't ended and I've been out of jail for two and a half years now going on three.
That support is what I needed to get that confidence back. Get my feet on your me. Kind of build my world back around me in a safe way because I'm a 14 time felon.
(33:47):
I don't have the housing options that other people do. I don't have the job options that most people do no matter how much I've changed.
That's still on my background and I'm still judged because of that when it comes to housing, when it comes to employment.
I am still judged by that. So I needed that support and that's exactly what I got.
(34:14):
It wasn't easy rebuilding never is sober living was a challenge finding employment with 14 felonies on her record nearly impossible.
But Jennifer didn't give up supported by the same women who showed up for her in jail. She began to build a new life one day at a time.
(34:40):
Today she's not only in recovery. She's a peer recovery coach and an advocate working with justice involved individuals at life recovery center.
She spends her days helping people meet their immediate needs so they can focus on healing.
I knew that I wanted to do something to kind of give back what was given to me and the best way for me was to be one of those women that were there for me.
(35:11):
Within four months of being released from jail, I went to a peer recovery coach class and started working for mental health America of Indiana.
I still currently work for them today under the company life recovery center.
And I literally spend my days working with the people that walk through those doors who 90% of them are from the judicial system, the justice involved clients.
(35:42):
And I help them with their immediate needs. If I'm scared about where I'm going to sleep at night, the substance is the last thing on my mind at that moment.
So we take care of immediate needs so then I can start to help address the substance needs building that relationship, building that rapport with those people as not a therapist, not a counselor, but as a peer cheerleader.
(36:11):
Letting them know that they can tell me anything and they're not going to get judged because more than likely I've done the same thing if not worse.
Being able to help kind of give them inspiration.
There's women know that they can call me at any time and I do a lot of stuff outside of my working hours as well.
(36:35):
It is important to me to let people know that they're not there by themselves. They're not alone.
Because that's like I said, it's the biggest thing in our addictive minds.
We think that everybody's turned their back on us and that's we just feel so alone and all act well.
I mean, they're just protecting themselves but we still need to have those people that are there for us, that will do something for us without having to do something in return.
(37:09):
That's another one in that drug and criminal scene. You don't get anything for free if I give.
If somebody gives me something, they're expecting something in return and nothing was ever expected in return other than to do better.
That's exactly what I did.
Jennifer's transformation isn't only a miracle. It's the result of structure, support, and self-determination.
(37:38):
But she's clear that support made all the difference and the programs that changed her life, launch hope, refuel wellness, celebrate recovery, and 12 step recovery.
Didn't just talk about addiction, they built her confidence, they gave her tools, they gave her back her dignity.
(38:03):
Hamilton County has a structured program. It focuses on, I'm going to go into these classes and I'm going to learn something new.
I'm going to learn some skills to have when I do leave.
We learned how to sew and learned how to start it, how to run a business and I've actually started my own business since I've been out of there.
(38:28):
I learned how to meditate. I learned how to control those emotions. I learned how to take a minute, stop, and breathe before I made a decision.
Because 99% of the time when I make decisions out of emotions, I'm going to make the wrong decision and it's going to wind up bad.
(38:50):
That's what happened all those years and I made the wrong decisions because I was making the amount of emotions instead of stopping and recognizing how I felt and then making a good decision and how to love myself.
Unfortunately, the stigma still follows her.
(39:12):
She's been denied jobs, housing, and opportunities because of her record. But Jennifer doesn't let that stop her. She finds another way.
And in the process, she helps others believe they can too.
I am going on almost four years sober. And I work as a peer recovery coach. But even today, I got denied a job as a peer in a substance inpatient substance use treatment center due to my felony.
(39:51):
And the whole point of a peer is that we've been down that path. We've been down that addiction and possibly the judicial, you know, the justice involved path.
But even within our circle, there's still stigma.
I think none of my charges were outside of my addiction. They were all in that, during that addiction, motivated by that addiction.
(40:21):
What I can tell the person who is facing it and what I, what I do when I tell myself every day is I didn't come this far to only get here.
So many more steps, so much further than I'm going to go than where I'm at today.
Anytime I get a door shut, a door shut just means I have to take a detour.
(40:48):
You know, I had plenty of doors to shut because I wanted to go from A to B. And A to B was not my path that day.
A B C D was my path to get there. I had to take that detour. I don't let people tell me no.
You just can't give up. That's the worst thing that you could ever do for yourself is to give up.
(41:16):
Jennifer's story is a powerful reminder of what's possible when we stop criminalizing substance use disorder and start investing in people through jail programs that prioritize
healing and recovery. She's proof that recovery doesn't start after jail. It can begin inside when someone sees you and says,
(41:38):
"I believe in you and you're worth it." Thank you, Jennifer, for reminding us what recovery and action looks like.
And thank you to all the women who showed up for you so that you can show up for others by carrying the message of hope.
(42:08):
So, you know, Jody, I was very excited that we were going to be doing an episode focusing on programs at the jail and what it's kind of like for people who end up in the criminal justice system.
And that's kind of how they find their own recovery journey. And it applies to so many people and working in professional treatment for decades.
(42:32):
So many people end up going into treatment because of an arrest or whatever. And they get in trouble in some kind of way.
And that is what kind of leads them to the treatment door. And for some people that is professional addiction treatment in programs or hospitals or whatever.
(42:56):
But we also have that other side that we're talking about today, which is, you know, when you end up in the criminal justice system and get sentenced to jail.
And how do you use that time in jail in a very positive kind of manner to really get your start down the recovery path?
(43:17):
Yeah, I've been looking forward to this episode on a personal level because this is, you know, a program that I've had at the Hamilton County JL. And yes, like you said, Dean, there are many people that go through this system to get to the recovery side of addiction.
And, you know, we call it the nudge from the judge sometimes, you know, and, you know, this is the program that I've been involved with at Hamilton County JL and working with Kelly Gunn and Jennifer Vellabeen, one of one of the women that has gone through my program.
(43:53):
And, you know, I call her my star student because she is that perfect example of just, you know, what it takes to really engage in the programs to do the work and put the time in and the connection, you know, that her and I made in jail and then beyond jail.
And, you know, that's the most important part because once you walk out of those doors, you just never know what's going to happen. And, you know, but she was, you know, one of those, those students that paid attention and connected and did all the things to really turn her life around.
(44:31):
And, it's been just an honor for me to be part of that journey with her and I like to call her my subject matter expert as I do the other women in the jail because I learn so much from them and, you know, really takes being in the jail for me to see it and to hear it and to feel it from those women so that I can do that advocacy work that I do and connect those resources.
(44:58):
So, this is my passion work and I'm just grateful that I, you know, through my own recovery journey that this is, you know, kind of where I find my strength and where I definitely really enjoy this work.
I think that's just great, Jody. And, I love the term, the Nudge from the Judge. We always called it, you got to get well card from the Judge.
(45:23):
So, whether you start your recovery journey by waking up one day and realize you need to make a change or you end up in a jail and you start to do something different.
And, there's all kinds of paths into recovery. And so, I'm so glad that we were talking about this today.
You know, in Indiana we have 92 counties, there's 92 county jails, so, you know, every jail operates differently. So, it's, you know, it's good to see that there's some good programming.
(45:52):
I know Hamilton County really does a great job. But, there's a lot of other good programs too throughout the jails. I've had the opportunity to be in Marion County Jail, to be in Boone County Jail and doing some work in both of those.
But, it's really nice to see that these programs are helping people, you know, that's the bottom line, you know, it's helping people, it's helping reduce the recidivism rates and it's getting people connected to the good resources that are available for the recovery community.
(46:23):
So, yes, good stuff.
If by chance you find yourself in jail or you have a loved one and one of your loved ones finding themselves in jail, it would be probably be pretty helpful to find out what a particular jail, which whatever county jail it is in Indiana, to see what kind of programming they have in order to possibly make a difference in your loved ones life.
(46:46):
Yeah, you know, Jody, as we close out, we want to look forward to our upcoming episodes. So, what we have kind of planned on the books is an episode where we're going to be talking about stigma once again.
But, this time from a very different perspective and we're going to be talking with a physician about what that stigma is like, but coming kind of from the physician's perspective. So, it should be very interesting.
(47:10):
See you next time here on Beyond Substance.
If you feel you need assistance, please reach out to a counselor or other healthcare provider, supportive loved one, or contact resources in the community such as 211 where you can be connected to assistance or talk with a peer or counselor.
(47:34):
Beyond Substance is hosted by Dean Batcock and Jody Miller. A look at the numbers segment is hosted by Angela Shamblin.
Beyond Substance is produced by Angela Shamblin and the executive producer is Shawn P Neal.
[Music]
(48:10):
#BeyondSubstance #RecoveryBehindBars #LaunchHope #PeerSupport #SubstanceUseRecovery #HarmReduction #ReentryPrograms #TOWERProgram #AddictionRecoveryStories #CriminalJusticeReform #PublicHealthInJails #IndianaRecovery #NaloxoneSavesLives #MATPrograms #StigmaFreeRecovery #RefuelWellness #JenniferBella #ShawnPNeal #AdvoCast #CommunityHealing
[Music]
(00:04):
Stories connect human beings to human beings.
[Music]
As we realize that our experiences are uniquely our own.
And yet somehow, apart of the bigger picture.
These are the stories from a community that is building hope through recovery by going beyond substance.
(00:28):
[Music]
Hi, I'm Dean Babcock.
And I'm Jodi Miller.
We're the co-hosts here on the Beyond Substance Podcast.
In a lot of our previous episodes, we talk a lot about people entering their recovery journey through professional treatment, through the medical system, through the emergency room.
And this time we're going to look at how people enter their recovery journey through the criminal justice system.
(00:54):
And in particular, a county jail.
That's right, Dean. Today we're featuring two meaningful conversations that speak to the challenges and the hope.
Found at the intersection of incarceration and addiction recovery.
I'll be speaking with Kelly Gunn, director of jail programs in Hamilton County.
She shares her insight into the prevalence of substance use disorders among inmates.
(01:19):
And the critical role of structured support and community engagement in recovery, both inside and outside the jail walls.
And I'll be introducing Jennifer Bella, whose personal story of loss, addiction, and eventual transformation in jail shows the power of support, self-belief, and second chances.
(01:42):
Her journey reminds us that recovery is possible, even in the most unexpected places.
Together, these conversations underscore the importance of holistic programming, peer support, and the commitment to treating individuals with dignity and compassion.
Whether you're tuning in as a provider, an advocate, or someone walking the path of recovery.
(02:04):
We hope this episode brings you deeper understanding and renewed hope.
Now let's begin, as always, with Angela Shamblin, taking a look at the numbers.
Thanks, Jodi. Today we're taking a closer look at addiction and recovery programs that are happening right inside our jails here in Indiana.
(02:25):
The Indiana Commission to Combat Substance Use Disorder runs an online tool called the Next Level Recovery Data Dashboard.
According to their 2024 numbers, there were over 44,000 drug-related arrests in the state.
Those arrests involved about 38,000 people.
The most common substances linked to these arrests were alcohol, marijuana, and methamphetamine.
(02:48):
Drug-related arrests made up about 27% of all arrests in Indiana, based on data from the state's arrests dashboard.
The good news is that there are some strong programs in place to help people who get arrested for drug-related offenses.
One standout is called IRAX, which stands for Integrated Reentry and Correctional Support.
It's designed to help people recover and successfully re-enter their communities after spending time in jail.
(03:14):
In the first half of 2024, IRAX served more than 6,600 people.
The program reported a 63% success rate, and only 13% of those who went through it ended up getting arrested again.
It's also been shown to reduce serious incidents in jails, lower stress for correctional officers, and improve participants' mental health.
(03:36):
Right now, IRAX is up and running in 7 Indiana counties, and 14 more are working on launching their own sites.
That's it for our Data Segment. Now let's hear from our first guest.
(04:00):
As Jodi and I talked about in our introduction, today we're going to be taking a look at some issues related to the criminal justice system and how that impacts with people who have substance use disorders.
So Kelly, why don't you take it away?
Sure, thank you, Dean. My name is Kelly Gunn. I am the Director of Jail Programs at the Hamilton County Jail.
(04:23):
My background is primarily criminal justice and social work. In the past, I was a corrections officer here for Hamilton County, as my first delve into this field.
And then I've been a state probation officer in Florida, and I've worked at mental health facilities with at-risk families in the city of Indianapolis.
And then in 2018, I came back to the jail setting to be in charge of reentry programs.
(04:48):
Can you share with our listeners kind of from your perspective how you feel criminal justice system interfaces with people with substance use disorders?
Sure. So in our jail, I would say probably 75 to 80% of our inmates and the people we serve have substance use disorder or charges stemming from substance use disorder.
(05:12):
So it is very rare for me to deal with a person in our building that has not been affected by substance use disorder or is not currently experiencing that.
Wow, that's a pretty high percentage. How can that time that someone spends in a jail served to help people make positive changes in their lives both during their stay and following up upon their release?
(05:38):
Well, there's kind of a twofold answer to that. So number one, the jail has to offer quality opportunities, programming, educational setting, type opportunities for the person to really work on themselves and better themselves, learn coping skills, get mental health,
and trauma related treatment, peer recovery, coaching, employment skills, and readiness. And our jail fortunately has quite a bit of that.
(06:02):
So number one, the jail would have to offer those services, which not all jails do. And number two, the person would really want have to want to be engaged in that.
We don't require programming here. It's all voluntary. So we want the person to be ready and invested in themselves and have a desire to do some things differently to break this cycle of incarceration that they're experiencing and to make positive changes for them and their families.
(06:30):
So you kind of mentioned that some jails may provide such programming and some don't. Can you share with us kind of what the difference is and like who makes that decision?
In the past, many people did not believe in the powers that be, if you will, administrators, sheriffs, et cetera.
It did not necessarily want to invest in programming or believe in it because the typical house seeing like amount of time we have is three to six months for a person. And so, and that depends on a lot as well, bail, sentence modifications, things like that.
(07:05):
So in the past, it wasn't necessarily something to invest a lot of time or effort in because people weren't in our buildings for very long. But legislation changed a while back and DOC sentence inmates were serving their level six felony time here in our jails opposed to going to DOC.
And so that is really when we as the Hamilton County Jail started to look at, okay, these people would have historically been sentenced to Department of Corrections and had a ton of different program opportunities and educational opportunities and treatment opportunities.
(07:35):
But now they are being housed in Hamilton County Jail or other local jails to alleviate prison overcrowding and they don't have that many opportunities.
So we as a jail started to look at, okay, we're housing these people longer term and we really should be investing in them as people and giving them the opportunity to work on themselves to better themselves to spend their time effectively in the jail to really set them up for success when they leave.
(08:01):
And I think in many ways, I've always, in the time I spent working in the psychiatry and whatever is like looking for what are those opportune times when sometimes you have a captive audience that can be taken advantage of to actually provide things that people may not, if they were on the outside may not necessarily enroll in or whatever.
(08:24):
So I think it's a great opportunity for folks to take advantage of. And you know, and the Beyoncé's podcast really looks at the whole state just not one county and whatever and our guests come from all over the state.
So it sounds like you're doing a lot in Hamilton County. Do you know of other counties that are doing like great jobs with their programming that you'd like to share with us that you're aware of?
(08:51):
Yeah, so Porter County in Northern Indiana actually was kind of a mentor to me when I started to look at expansion of services and programs in our jail, they have a therapeutic community cell block for men and also a faith based cell block for men that has a variety of different programs they have to offer.
So back in 2019, I believe it was I went up to their jail and spent the day with their program director and toward their cell blocks, their therapeutic community cell blocks and saw some of their programming and really had great conversations with Jay Berkey there about the different, you know, programs they had to offer where their funding came from the why behind what they were doing.
(09:34):
So they really mentored me as I started these things for Hamilton County. I'm also familiar with some other jails in the state doing J cap programs which I believe are a grant funded program.
They do a lot of peer recovery support and some life skills programming and some other services and I actually was just a ball state at a conference a couple weeks ago in the Delaware County J cap program presented.
(09:59):
And it was really impressive to see what they're doing actually that they have people that had served time in their building now as the peers going back in. So that was really impressive to me.
Could you walk through a number of the programs that you offer in Hamilton County and the range of things that people may get help with while they're spending time with you?
(10:21):
Sure. So we have our flagship program that started back in 2016 is called tower. That's a men's reentry program and that acronym stands for transitioning opportunities for work, education and reality.
That program started out being federally funded and it was merely just nice and I shouldn't say merely it was important and served its purpose, but it was an employment readiness program.
(10:43):
So eight weeks of going through how to teach them to do resumes and interviewing skills and elevator speeches, employment etiquette, all things surrounding employability.
I came into this role in 2018 at the end of that grant funding and I started to have conversations with our administrators here at the jail about how do we not only sustain what we have currently, but how do we expand it?
(11:10):
Employability is important, but it's one very small part of reentry and I would argue it's the easiest part of my job as far as case management and making referrals.
Getting people employed luckily in this day and age especially in Hamilton County and Central Indiana, we're very blessed to have quite a few employer partners that are willing to look at people with criminal histories and see them as human beings who need an opportunity to be paid well to support them in their families and to learn a career or skilled trade.
(11:39):
And so we have a lot of really great employer partners, but like I said, that was just one small part of reentry. So in 2019, we started to organically and slowly add more services.
So now, fast forward to 2025, we have a cognitive behavioral therapy component, so individual and group therapy.
We have financial literacy, we have a fatherhood engagement component, we still have the employability program component and that's actually now a partnership with Ivy Tech.
(12:08):
Who comes in and teaches that we have an A-A-N-A class for our tower participants.
We have individualized case management and transition planning, so we sit down with them and create a transition plan and make appropriate referrals to social service agencies and treatment providers to get those services set up before they leave.
And I will say that the most unique part of what we do is that they have access to myself as their case manager and our therapist Patrick upon release for as long as they're willing to engage at no cost to them.
(12:40):
So they can stay engaged with us, receive individual and family therapy, receive referrals and social service support beyond their stay in our building.
And so that really sets us apart as far as that ongoing support to these men and women that we serve.
I think that's absolutely great.
Thank you. And I will say at the beginning of that program, we did not have a therapeutic community cell block, but over the years I realized how important that is for the people that we choose to be in our program to live in communities together, practicing the life skills and things they're learning in therapy together.
(13:17):
And so now we do and have had since 2000 and late 2019, a cell block where 12 men per quarter live and engage in our program and practice those life skills and things are learning and therapy.
And that particular piece has been really impactful because they are kind of turning off that negative chatter that they might hear in general population from people that are not necessarily ready for that type of life change or really ready to kind of work on themselves individually.
(13:46):
And so it's a group of like-minded individuals who are vetted and chosen to be a part of the program and they really kind of build a little pro social network and family while they're in here because they are expected to practice the things that they're learning in therapy.
So the anger management and conflict resolution and healthy communication, living in that cell block together.
(14:09):
How does the whole community participate when it comes to helping inmates in Hamilton County?
So we could not do what we do without partnerships.
I am one person serving a couple hundred people a year and even that doesn't scratch the surface of how many people in a year come through a building.
But we partner with Good Samaritan Network, which is a not for profit here locally that provides us with clothing and emergency housing and food and hygiene products and bicycles for people upon their release.
(14:42):
We partner with Invest Hamilton County, which is our local economic development council.
They actually fund our Ivy Tech Employability Skills program.
So they fund that for us in order to give that to the guys that we serve in our tower program.
But we partner with Centier Bank, who offers the financial literacy component of our program.
We partner with local treatment providers, so many, many different treatment providers in the state actually who will do assessments for people whether that's phone or virtual.
(15:12):
We'll get them referred to treatment so they have their first appointment setup or if they're eligible for some sort of inpatient or residential program, we'll have that set up for them upon release.
We also partner with our local trustees offices to provide some of that emergency shelter and food and clothing and hygiene products, those emergent need type things for the people we serve in the building and also their families on the outside.
(15:36):
Wow, that's really a great constellation.
And what other kind of programs or other activities are kind of focused specifically for those who might have a substance use disorder.
So I would say that all of our programming has components that address people experiencing substance use disorder.
We aim to be very holistic and well-rounded in the things that we offer because again we understand that someone experiencing substance use disorder.
(16:04):
That's probably one of many issues that they're experiencing in their life, so because of substance use disorder they may be under-employed or unemployed.
They may be unhoused or have housing instability, they may have food insecurity.
There's a lot of different things that come into play when you're struggling with substance use disorder.
And so our women's program launch hope, which Jody is a part of, we have three components to that program.
(16:28):
We have a sewing skills program that's teaching them how to do a tangible work skill, but also the projects that they complete in that particular component of the class get donated back into the community.
We have an entrepreneurship and business component to that program that curriculum was created by Ivy Tech and Butler University to teach women about how to potentially start their own businesses.
(16:51):
Jody's component of the program is called refuel wellness, and so that's a peer recovery component as well as a wellness component that teaches the ladies how to care for their mind, body, and spirit in a healthy way.
So those three components together again we're trying to be very well-rounded in addressing mind, body, spirit.
And so we offer those three things and they have to to attend all three. So they're getting all of that in one program. And like I said substance use disorder is one part of these women's life and story, but we want to make sure we're equipping them to be successful in other areas of life and to help build up and encourage them that they have value worth strengths and abilities that they may not have recognized previously.
(17:36):
It's one of those things that they kind of touches everything. So thank you for taking a very kind of comprehensive, so we say kind of approach to the folks needing help there.
One of the things that we've learned that people who have opioid use disorder in particular may be a greater risk for overdose upon leaving incarceration.
(17:59):
And that is kind of known from a phenomenon called people kind of losing their tolerance. And so they may leave either a hospital or they may leave a jail or they may leave somewhere where they've had a period of abstinence and then go back and use at the same level they were using before may may result in an overdose.
How are you helping alleviate that risk?
(18:24):
Our jail is now offering a pilot program to offer oral nal-trek zone to people that qualify for that. So that is new within the last couple weeks in our jail.
So starting them on oral nal-trek zone to help with those cravings for opiates and to you know work with the chemistry of the brain to help just alleviate those those wants for that substance.
(18:48):
And also have a suboxin program inside of our jail. So if someone is coming in to serve time in our building and they're already on a suboxin prescription as long as that is active, they can still receive that while they're incarcerated.
We are working on revamping our Vivitrol program right now. We will link people to the Vivitrol injection for the day of release.
(19:11):
So they will get it will make an appointment with a treatment provider in the city or town where they're going for that day of release so they can leave our jail and go immediately to get the Vivitrol injection.
But we are trying to revamp our program to be able to offer that to appropriate people the week before they leave.
So giving them that first injection the week before they leave and then setting them up with that subsequent appointment for 28 days later.
(19:35):
And then we do a lot of linking people to treatment providers like I mentioned so getting them set up for outpatient services or individual therapy or residential or inpatient treatments.
Whatever the appropriate level of care is for them. So we'll make those referrals from the building will will facilitate those phone and virtual interviews will get their acceptance letters for them to submit to court so that they are set up with those services before they ever leave.
(20:03):
When you look at the interventions that you were all providing of being kind of successful.
What kind of things do you do you think we should focus on?
So I believe that numbers obviously tell a story but anecdotal data to me speaks more to the success.
So things like maintaining recovery being active in the recovery community completing treatment being reunified with their families, rebuilding relationships and restoring relationships, maintaining gainful employment, housing stability, mentoring others and sponsoring others in the recovery community and giving back in that way.
(20:43):
There's quite a bit that can be shown to be successful not just a statistic that they didn't come back to the jail in X amount of days.
I really believe that we are chipping away at a lifetime of circumstances and trauma and things so we are we're planning seeds.
We're never going to change somebody. I don't have the power to change anyone but I am planning seeds and chipping away at some things and teaching them and giving them opportunities that they may never have had before.
(21:12):
They really be impactful in their life and then that ongoing mentorship and case management is also very important that they recognize and realize that they have a team of people that are rooting for them and supporting them and they don't have to do it alone.
So for people either in Hamilton County or outside Hamilton County if individuals have a family member or a friend that happens to be in jail.
(21:37):
How do you think they should go about kind of investigating whether or not there may be positive programs?
I would say calling the jail directly on behalf of their family member and asking what programming is provided.
Most of the time whether jails offer treatment programs or life skills programs or not, they usually at the very least will have a high school equivalency faith-based programming and then AA or NA.
(22:02):
Making sure that you know your loved ones who are currently incarcerated are aware of those things but also just asking the jail do you have these things to offer?
Do you have mental health staff on site? Do you have a map program?
Yeah, I mean knowledge is power so if your person that you love is incarcerated and they're not sure and no one's really answering questions for them then I would certainly suggest calling the jail and speaking to somebody that is of rank or administration to get that information.
(22:31):
Kelly, we always ask every guest if there's a message that they would like to share with our listeners. If you have one what would that message be kind of coming from you?
The people that we serve in this building and other jails in our states are there are neighbors.
They are people that have souls and worth and value and strengths and talents and gifts and abilities and they deserve to be served and given opportunities and encouraged and educated and provided with things that will help them on this journey and that will help like propel them in their life to do things differently and to make better choices.
(23:14):
Again, we can't do it for anyone, right? We all have loved ones in our lives that we probably really wish they would make a different choice or we could help them on a path and help make different choices for them but that's not reality.
So what we can do though is come alongside of them meet them where they are support them love them encourage them and help them to understand what is out there for them.
(23:36):
A lot of people don't understand or know that these things exist and so just having the knowledge that there is a community and a body of people that want to come alongside of them in this valley of incarceration that can really feel like you can't get any lower but honestly these opportunities for support and education and ongoing reentry services really are a light of hope for people.
(24:02):
So that would be my message that there are neighbors already they live in our neighborhoods they're going to your churches and work with you so why not be the person that could be a catalyst for change and help encourage them to do that.
[Music]
(24:43):
When we talk about addiction we often focus on the behaviors or the consequences but behind every story of substance use is a deeper story of loss, of pain and sometimes of love.
Today you'll hear from Jennifer Bella a woman who's journey through grief abuse addiction incarceration and ultimately recovery reveals not only the depths of despair but the resilience it takes to come back.
(25:15):
The thing that led me to the substance use started about roughly the age of 30 when I lost my mother. I think it's just kind of lost my mother who was also my best friend and it just kind of broke me and started making some really bad decisions with the people that I was surrounding myself with and the relationship that I was in.
(25:43):
I ended up in a relationship with a very abusive man who was also in a DNA and had it only as addicted to correct cooking.
He abuse started in about two years in his relationship with a man who was using drugs that meant three years ago. In her 30s really the loss of her mother and trapped in a violent relationship, Jennifer was searching for anything that could have known the pain.
(26:17):
That search led to crack cocaine, a choice that changed everything.
I was living in the weekly stay hotels. I had kind of cut off, well pretty much cut off from all family members and I had started in the abuse and then just got worse during the addiction.
(26:51):
About a year and a half, almost two years into the addiction, I actually did leave my ex, my abuser got sober shortly for a very short period of time.
Then got pulled right back in. I had put him in jail for domestic violence and then I bonded to him out.
(27:13):
We went to get away that high. It's just crazy how the substances and the manipulation happens in your head. I eventually did leave him and then I was an addict with no family.
I've been cut off from all my friends. So the people that I considered my friends were now my using friends or dealers.
(27:37):
Eventually I met another man that I got into relationship with who was also a crack addict as well. He kind of swooped in, got me off the streets, provided a place to stay.
All these great things and he was actually ended up being even more an abuser in my life than my previous relationship was.
(28:03):
To survive, Jennifer turned to stealing merchandise, what's known on the streets as boosting, trading it for money or more drugs.
She was trapped in an endless loop of manipulation and violence. Her relationships revolved around addiction and abuse and still there were moments of trying to get out.
(28:26):
She'd have periods of recovery and then fall again. The cycle repeated until it didn't.
My abuser at that time had called the police on me knowing that I had a warrant up in Hamilton County for theft.
He had mad at me for something, money, drug related and had called the police knowing that I had a warrant and actually turned me in after he had beaten me.
(28:55):
He had beaten me up that day.
So I ended up going to Mary and County jail. I was on Mary and County probation so I stayed there for a short period of time.
I was going to get violated and then I was taken up to Hamilton County jail.
When they gave me my charges, my list of charges, I had a list of 12 felony thefts through Hamilton County jail.
(29:29):
They had caught us in one store, figured out through either license plate, something, but they figured out who I was and then connected us with other instances in the area.
And so instead of just one charge, I now had 12 charges, all felony. I was in Hamilton County and I was not going to get released with 12 felony thefts. They were going to keep me.
(29:58):
That arrest would become a turning point, but not for the reasons you might expect.
In Hamilton County, Jennifer was held, really held for the first time. No early release, no drop charges, just time.
(30:19):
Time to think, time to breathe, time to decide if her story would end up where it was or begin again.
And someone in that jail, another woman just like her, told her about something called launch hope.
(30:40):
She'd been there for about a month and a half. She was also involved in substance use without alcohol. She was in there for a DUI.
And she was ready to change. She's actually the person that told me about these classes called launch hope in the Hamilton County jail.
(31:03):
It's about a, you know, building a business. And then they had sowing at that time and they eventually brought in the refuel wellness with the, the health and wellness part as well.
But she actually got me started in that and she was a really big influence to get me started and get me to connect to the women that I need to get connected to.
(31:31):
For 16 and a half months, Jennifer stayed in jail. The classes offered gave her the opportunity to learn emotional regulation through a mindfulness program called refuel wellness.
She was taught life skills, business planning and even sewing, but most of all she was reminded daily that she mattered that she was worth showing up for.
(32:00):
And when her release date came, someone was there.
I was told that one of my instructors was going to be there, but making that step and actually having that hope that they were actually going to come and then having them actually having her actually show up.
Like it was it was a scary step. It was a really scary step because I trusted these women, but at the same time I'd been in this protected environment that whole time.
(32:31):
So stepping out like they had me. I was put into a hotel room. I was taken to get clothes. I walked out with nothing but the clothes on my back.
I couldn't go back and get anything that I had because everything was my abuser.
So like I literally had to walk away from everything and come out with nothing and they were there for me every step of the way.
(32:56):
I got me into sober living, went to a couple different places, but the second one that I went to was a good fit for me stayed there.
And I just got my feet back on under me again.
You know, it's one of the scary things and one of the hardest things is I can come out of jail and know that I want to change, but not have the support to do it.
(33:20):
And that's what those jail programs did for me is the support did not end when I walked out of jail.
The support still hasn't ended and I've been out of jail for two and a half years now going on three.
That support is what I needed to get that confidence back. Get my feet on your me. Kind of build my world back around me in a safe way because I'm a 14 time felon.
(33:47):
I don't have the housing options that other people do. I don't have the job options that most people do no matter how much I've changed.
That's still on my background and I'm still judged because of that when it comes to housing, when it comes to employment.
I am still judged by that. So I needed that support and that's exactly what I got.
(34:14):
It wasn't easy rebuilding never is sober living was a challenge finding employment with 14 felonies on her record nearly impossible.
But Jennifer didn't give up supported by the same women who showed up for her in jail. She began to build a new life one day at a time.
(34:40):
Today she's not only in recovery. She's a peer recovery coach and an advocate working with justice involved individuals at life recovery center.
She spends her days helping people meet their immediate needs so they can focus on healing.
I knew that I wanted to do something to kind of give back what was given to me and the best way for me was to be one of those women that were there for me.
(35:11):
Within four months of being released from jail, I went to a peer recovery coach class and started working for mental health America of Indiana.
I still currently work for them today under the company life recovery center.
And I literally spend my days working with the people that walk through those doors who 90% of them are from the judicial system, the justice involved clients.
(35:42):
And I help them with their immediate needs. If I'm scared about where I'm going to sleep at night, the substance is the last thing on my mind at that moment.
So we take care of immediate needs so then I can start to help address the substance needs building that relationship, building that rapport with those people as not a therapist, not a counselor, but as a peer cheerleader.
(36:11):
Letting them know that they can tell me anything and they're not going to get judged because more than likely I've done the same thing if not worse.
Being able to help kind of give them inspiration.
There's women know that they can call me at any time and I do a lot of stuff outside of my working hours as well.
(36:35):
It is important to me to let people know that they're not there by themselves. They're not alone.
Because that's like I said, it's the biggest thing in our addictive minds.
We think that everybody's turned their back on us and that's we just feel so alone and all act well.
I mean, they're just protecting themselves but we still need to have those people that are there for us, that will do something for us without having to do something in return.
(37:09):
That's another one in that drug and criminal scene. You don't get anything for free if I give.
If somebody gives me something, they're expecting something in return and nothing was ever expected in return other than to do better.
That's exactly what I did.
Jennifer's transformation isn't only a miracle. It's the result of structure, support, and self-determination.
(37:38):
But she's clear that support made all the difference and the programs that changed her life, launch hope, refuel wellness, celebrate recovery, and 12 step recovery.
Didn't just talk about addiction, they built her confidence, they gave her tools, they gave her back her dignity.
(38:03):
Hamilton County has a structured program. It focuses on, I'm going to go into these classes and I'm going to learn something new.
I'm going to learn some skills to have when I do leave.
We learned how to sew and learned how to start it, how to run a business and I've actually started my own business since I've been out of there.
(38:28):
I learned how to meditate. I learned how to control those emotions. I learned how to take a minute, stop, and breathe before I made a decision.
Because 99% of the time when I make decisions out of emotions, I'm going to make the wrong decision and it's going to wind up bad.
(38:50):
That's what happened all those years and I made the wrong decisions because I was making the amount of emotions instead of stopping and recognizing how I felt and then making a good decision and how to love myself.
Unfortunately, the stigma still follows her.
(39:12):
She's been denied jobs, housing, and opportunities because of her record. But Jennifer doesn't let that stop her. She finds another way.
And in the process, she helps others believe they can too.
I am going on almost four years sober. And I work as a peer recovery coach. But even today, I got denied a job as a peer in a substance inpatient substance use treatment center due to my felony.
(39:51):
And the whole point of a peer is that we've been down that path. We've been down that addiction and possibly the judicial, you know, the justice involved path.
But even within our circle, there's still stigma.
I think none of my charges were outside of my addiction. They were all in that, during that addiction, motivated by that addiction.
(40:21):
What I can tell the person who is facing it and what I, what I do when I tell myself every day is I didn't come this far to only get here.
So many more steps, so much further than I'm going to go than where I'm at today.
Anytime I get a door shut, a door shut just means I have to take a detour.
(40:48):
You know, I had plenty of doors to shut because I wanted to go from A to B. And A to B was not my path that day.
A B C D was my path to get there. I had to take that detour. I don't let people tell me no.
You just can't give up. That's the worst thing that you could ever do for yourself is to give up.
(41:16):
Jennifer's story is a powerful reminder of what's possible when we stop criminalizing substance use disorder and start investing in people through jail programs that prioritize
healing and recovery. She's proof that recovery doesn't start after jail. It can begin inside when someone sees you and says,
(41:38):
"I believe in you and you're worth it." Thank you, Jennifer, for reminding us what recovery and action looks like.
And thank you to all the women who showed up for you so that you can show up for others by carrying the message of hope.
(42:08):
So, you know, Jody, I was very excited that we were going to be doing an episode focusing on programs at the jail and what it's kind of like for people who end up in the criminal justice system.
And that's kind of how they find their own recovery journey. And it applies to so many people and working in professional treatment for decades.
(42:32):
So many people end up going into treatment because of an arrest or whatever. And they get in trouble in some kind of way.
And that is what kind of leads them to the treatment door. And for some people that is professional addiction treatment in programs or hospitals or whatever.
(42:56):
But we also have that other side that we're talking about today, which is, you know, when you end up in the criminal justice system and get sentenced to jail.
And how do you use that time in jail in a very positive kind of manner to really get your start down the recovery path?
(43:17):
Yeah, I've been looking forward to this episode on a personal level because this is, you know, a program that I've had at the Hamilton County JL. And yes, like you said, Dean, there are many people that go through this system to get to the recovery side of addiction.
And, you know, we call it the nudge from the judge sometimes, you know, and, you know, this is the program that I've been involved with at Hamilton County JL and working with Kelly Gunn and Jennifer Vellabeen, one of one of the women that has gone through my program.
(43:53):
And, you know, I call her my star student because she is that perfect example of just, you know, what it takes to really engage in the programs to do the work and put the time in and the connection, you know, that her and I made in jail and then beyond jail.
And, you know, that's the most important part because once you walk out of those doors, you just never know what's going to happen. And, you know, but she was, you know, one of those, those students that paid attention and connected and did all the things to really turn her life around.
(44:31):
And, it's been just an honor for me to be part of that journey with her and I like to call her my subject matter expert as I do the other women in the jail because I learn so much from them and, you know, really takes being in the jail for me to see it and to hear it and to feel it from those women so that I can do that advocacy work that I do and connect those resources.
(44:58):
So, this is my passion work and I'm just grateful that I, you know, through my own recovery journey that this is, you know, kind of where I find my strength and where I definitely really enjoy this work.
I think that's just great, Jody. And, I love the term, the Nudge from the Judge. We always called it, you got to get well card from the Judge.
(45:23):
So, whether you start your recovery journey by waking up one day and realize you need to make a change or you end up in a jail and you start to do something different.
And, there's all kinds of paths into recovery. And so, I'm so glad that we were talking about this today.
You know, in Indiana we have 92 counties, there's 92 county jails, so, you know, every jail operates differently. So, it's, you know, it's good to see that there's some good programming.
(45:52):
I know Hamilton County really does a great job. But, there's a lot of other good programs too throughout the jails. I've had the opportunity to be in Marion County Jail, to be in Boone County Jail and doing some work in both of those.
But, it's really nice to see that these programs are helping people, you know, that's the bottom line, you know, it's helping people, it's helping reduce the recidivism rates and it's getting people connected to the good resources that are available for the recovery community.
(46:23):
So, yes, good stuff.
If by chance you find yourself in jail or you have a loved one and one of your loved ones finding themselves in jail, it would be probably be pretty helpful to find out what a particular jail, which whatever county jail it is in Indiana, to see what kind of programming they have in order to possibly make a difference in your loved ones life.
(46:46):
Yeah, you know, Jody, as we close out, we want to look forward to our upcoming episodes. So, what we have kind of planned on the books is an episode where we're going to be talking about stigma once again.
But, this time from a very different perspective and we're going to be talking with a physician about what that stigma is like, but coming kind of from the physician's perspective. So, it should be very interesting.
(47:10):
See you next time here on Beyond Substance.
If you feel you need assistance, please reach out to a counselor or other healthcare provider, supportive loved one, or contact resources in the community such as 211 where you can be connected to assistance or talk with a peer or counselor.
(47:34):
Beyond Substance is hosted by Dean Batcock and Jody Miller. A look at the numbers segment is hosted by Angela Shamblin.
Beyond Substance is produced by Angela Shamblin and the executive producer is Shawn P Neal.
[Music]
(48:10):
#BeyondSubstance #RecoveryBehindBars #LaunchHope #PeerSupport #SubstanceUseRecovery #HarmReduction #ReentryPrograms #TOWERProgram #AddictionRecoveryStories #CriminalJusticeReform #PublicHealthInJails #IndianaRecovery #NaloxoneSavesLives #MATPrograms #StigmaFreeRecovery #RefuelWellness #JenniferBella #ShawnPNeal #AdvoCast #CommunityHealing
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