Next month, 40 inmates at the Richmond, Va., City Jail, will trade in their striped uniforms for far more mainstream attire -- blue jeans and a blue shirt.  They will eat as a group, live together on a separate, bright yellow tier of the jail and walk around referring to each other as "sir."

The future members of this new, upbeat jail community are inmates who have volunteered for the Recovery In a Secure Environment (RISE) program, which will start at the jail on June 7.  Modeled after Henrico County's program that began four years ago, Richmond's RISE program is intended to help drug-addicted inmates take ownership of their recovery.

"For the first time in their lives, they [will have] an opportunity to really take charge and make a commitment and bring about change," said Richmond Sheriff Michelle Mitchell, who was so impressed with Henrico County's RISE program that she wanted to bring it to her city jail.

"[The inmates there] really had hope and promise in their eyes, which is something that I just don't see," Mitchell said.  "They spend a lot of time really defining what addiction is and I was totally awestruck at the ownership and the pride that they display in their own recovery."

Inmates Take Control

While Mitchell was moved by the Henrico inmates' commitment to changing their lives, she was even more enthused about the way the RISE program is run -- by the inmates themselves.
 
"They set up the program [and] they enforce the rules and regulations of the program," said Mitchell, noting that the Richmond inmates are excited about taking the lead in their treatment and recovery. 

"Obviously, I think the inmates here are very encouraged by the fact that we are going to be offering them a drug treatment program where they will take responsibility for their own recovery," Mitchell said.  "It's going to be more like a community."

Creating a Community

In this RISE community, the walls are painted bright colors and the inmates all wear the same blue uniforms, rather than different colored ones that represent various classes of custody.

"We wanted to take that element out and put everybody on a level playing field," Mitchell said.

To even further create a sense of normalcy, the beds in the RISE tier are not stacked one on top of another like they are in other areas of the jail and the inmates receive direct supervision rather than just having an officer outside on the catwalk.  To cultivate an atmosphere of respect, both inmates and corrections officers are not allowed to raise their voices or curse.

"[The purpose is] just to create that air of communication and that air of respect and [promote the idea] that you are worthy of being treated as an individual and a human being," Mitchell said. 

In addition to all of these changes in the jail layout and atmosphere, corrections officers and the inmates who will be leading the program received special training.  After graduating from Henrico's program, several inmates will share what they have learned and guide inmates at the Richmond City Jail along the path to recovery.  Thirteen officers, too, have spent some quality time at Henrico in preparation for the RISE program's launch in Richmond.

The Road to Recovery

With both the inmates and the corrections staff trained, the next step for the first batch of RISE inmates will be an orientation.  Then, they will move to the second phase of the program, where they begin to learn about the 12 steps of recovery and relapse prevention. 

"From there you move into the third phase, [which] deals more with coming up with a recovery plan," said Mitchell. 

In the final phase of the program, inmates are encouraged to think about post-release issues like what their triggers might be in the community, how to re-involve themselves in their children's lives and other challenges they might face back in the community.  The RISE inmates discuss all of these issues together as a group and they help each other to develop strong plans for their recovery back in the community.

According to Mitchell, the constructive feedback that the inmates provide to each other is an important part of the program.

"It's not a mental health worker telling you [that] your [recovery] plan [isn't right].  It's having your peers to come back and criticize whatever it is that you need to go back and work on."

Aside from inmates running the program and supporting each other in their recovery efforts, an even greater feature of the program is the fact that once the inmates are released from the jail, they can return there to continue with their recovery, Mitchell said.

"I think that unique thing about this program is that even after you are released, if you want to, you have the opportunity to come [back], which it totally different and thinking outside of the box," Mitchell said.  "This program takes into account that we really want to follow these individuals into the community."

Beyond Release

Beyond helping these individuals to remain sober in the community, one of Mitchell's future goals for Richmond's RISE program is to incorporate a job skills element.  By partnering with local churches and agencies, she hopes to create connections for inmates to obtain employment as soon as they are released from the jail.

"We have a lot of work to do in that area, but at least we have a good starting point," she said, referring to an agreement that the jail has struck with a local businesswoman who runs a program that teaches ex-inmates and others how to refinish furniture and get started in the working world.  "It's a small start, but it's the first opportunity to learn," she added.  "For them, that will be the first time that a lot of them have been able to earn a meaningful wage."

With all of the pieces in place to kick off the program in two weeks, Mitchell is confident that the RISE program will make a difference in the lives of inmates at the Richmond City Jail.

"I feel so much optimism and so much promise in this program," Mitchell said.  "I haven't been this excited in a long time."

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To contact the Richmond City Sheriff's Office, call (804) 646-4464