November 21, 2023

Fairfax County Sheriff Stacey Kincaid launched the Striving to Achieve Recovery (STAR) program in the Adult Detention Center (ADC) in 2018 to address the need for an authentic, holistic, peer-based program for individuals with substance use disorders.  “Our program focuses on underlying trauma, restores dignity, provides hope and creates individualized plans for a sober future,” she says.

R. Brown, age 41, was arrested and booked into the ADC in June 2022 and transferred into the STAR unit seven months later. 

He and his sister had a troubled upbringing. Both his parents had substance use disorders. With their parents and later in foster care, beatings and food denial were regular occurrences. A grandmother came to their rescue and tried to be a good caregiver, providing clothing and food, but after two years, she could no longer manage all of her grandchildren. Brown was sent to live with his father, who was still using drugs and alcohol. His abuse of Brown escalated. By age 14, Brown was kicked out of school and ran away from his father’s home. Out on the street, he was introduced to drugs and alcohol. At 17, he was arrested on a drug charge and confined to the Juvenile Detention Center. During that incarceration, he applied himself and earned his GED.

At 21, he met the woman who would become his wife, “and she changed my life,” Brown says. A few years later, he got a job with the federal government, working at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, where he stayed until 2021. Over the years, he rose from a GS 5 to a GS 12.

What changed in 2021? His aunt died. He explains that she was the only relative he could always count on for guidance and moral support. When she died, his world came crashing down, he fell into addiction again and found himself in the Adult Detention Center.

Early in his stay in the STAR unit, Brown had a reputation for being withdrawn, for being afraid to speak publicly. He attributed that behavior to his upbringing. “I was afraid of getting beaten by my father, and he didn’t allow me to express myself. As a result, I didn’t trust people, and I was afraid in the STAR program to get up and speak.” He recognized that people are caring in the unit, but he describes himself as being very fragile. “This is my friend,” he says about another STAR participant, “but what if he abandons me.”

“I sit in my room [cell] a lot. Mentors check in on me. I am getting to the point where I feel lighter. I was carrying so much on my shoulders. I fit in here. I can speak freely.”

His favorite day in Phase 2 is Thursday, when each participant presents his homework paper to group and takes questions. “In those papers, I was expressing myself.” He also likes Wednesdays for the trauma group, which helps him cope with his feelings of anger and anxiety.

He is now a mentor, which entails making himself vulnerable. “I was anxious before. I didn’t want to suffer betrayal like my father did to me. He hurt my feelings and my pride. Here, no one is hurting me. My self- esteem has risen. I am fixing my defects. I am developing listening skills and relating to others and their stories.”

In conclusion, he says, “I’ve become calmer and humble. I can mingle and work within the group. It’s awesome.”

Lisa is a Peer Recovery Specialist with the Community Services Board and has been assigned to the STAR unit since February 2023. She had been a probation officer in Prince William County for 14 years but left there due to a drug addiction. 

“I was someone who had never had a drug or alcohol problem,” she says. Surgery in her mid-40s led to an addiction to pain medication. Now she has been in recovery for nearly seven years.

Speaking about Brown brings a broad smile to Lisa’s face. “He is someone who, I think, is finding his voice for the first time in his life.” She describes him as eager to learn. “He asks, ‘What can I do better?’ and is very receptive to feedback.”

She says he is always looking for ways to help and mentor other STAR participants. “He does this on the down low, not looking for attention or credit.” She says he facilitates some of the groups and excels at it.

“I have so much hope for him, and I don’t think that hope is misplaced.” 

Master Deputy Sheriff Cordell is assigned to the STAR program, ensuring that the participants follow the rules. Cordell explains his support for the program: “Having been affected personally by losing family members and a great childhood friend to substance abuse, I really take working in the STAR program to heart. I truly believe that if my family and friends lost to the disease would have had access to this program and all the resources offered through the county, they might still be here today. As a Fairfax County deputy for more than 26 years, I always felt that the regular jail setting was not a place for an addict to recover. Inmates must pay for the crimes they committed; however, they should be given every opportunity to recover from their disease in a safe and supportive place.

I am proud to work in the STAR program and hope I can influence some of the participants to recognize not only that they are in a safe place, but that they can have positive interactions with law enforcement.”