November 1, 2019
The Chris Atwood Foundation (CAF) has recognized Fairfax County Sheriff Stacey Kincaid with its Family Hero award for initiating the Striving to Achieve Recovery (STAR) program in the Adult Detention Center and including families as part of the recovery process. The CAF is a non-profit organization that strengthens the addiction recovery movement through education, stigma reduction and recovery support services.
The Sheriff’s Office launched the STAR program in November 2018. “Following much research and observation, and then bringing together partners such as the Chris Atwood Foundation and the Community Services Board, we created an intensive, highly structured addiction treatment and recovery program that is trauma-informed,” explained Kincaid. “The program is led by certified peer specialists who themselves have achieved long-term recovery. Working together, we can achieve hope and create a plan for a sober future.”
Shelly Young is a Certified Family Recovery Coach and Board Member for the CAF and facilitates the family recovery component in the Adult Detention Center “To support the recovery process for individuals, you need to include the family,” said Young. “Families have suffered from the impact of addiction, too. We chose Sheriff Kincaid for the Family Hero award because she recognized that families play an integral role in creating an environment that supports recovery. Our ultimate goal is to restore relationships, do whatever we can to make sure that recovery from substance use disorders is sustainable, and prevent the disease of addiction from flaring up again.”
Kincaid emphasizes that a jail is not the best place to receive treatment for mental illness and substance use disorders, but not everyone can be diverted to community-based treatment programs because of the nature of their criminal charges.
“We have many people in our jail who have abused drugs and alcohol, who have committed crimes related to their addiction,” said Kincaid. “Jail is a place that forces sobriety because drugs and alcohol are not available. But what happens when these same people get out of jail? They are sober addicts. And these sober addicts often return to the same people, places and things that got them into trouble in the first place. We need to break that cycle.”
STAR participants must successfully complete the first phase of the program, about 90 days, to become eligible for the family component. One evening per month, family members spend about an hour with Young for an education session and guided discussion about topics relevant to the disease of addiction and how to create an environment that supports recovery. They learn ways to engage, communicate, listen, respond and heal. In the next hour, the families and participants meet as a group and work on the skills or a topic together. At the conclusion of the evening, families have a brief contact visit.
Kincaid often speaks about second chances. “Gone are the days of locking people up and throwing away the key. We give people second chances, and third chances, to succeed.
For more information about the STAR program, please email the Sheriff’s Office.