FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — A newly renovated dorm at Franklin County Jail houses females in the jail's Substance Abuse Program and Support Others in Active Recovery Program.
35 hours of instruction are required for SAP Participants in a highly structured setting, and twenty are required for those in SOAR.
"We say we're doing jail differently here in Franklin County in this program here," Tracy Hopper said.
Hopper, Franklin County Jailer, is at the forefront of the jail's SAP and SOAR Programs.
"We have the opportunity here in Franklin County to open up these opportunities across the state," Hopper noted.
A major part of that statewide effort is the newly renovated dorm at Franklin County Jail. Representatives from the jail have picked up women and transported them to Frankfort County Jail from Pikeville to Paducah.
"That's to make sure all of these women complete their GED that have not received one yet. This is instrumental in them going out and being part of the community again," Hopper added.
Hopper emphasized that they worked diligently at Frankfort County Jail to renovate the dorm after several meetings with Shepherd's House and Franklin County Fiscal Court. They cut the ribbon on the facility a few weeks ago.
"It's facilities like this and programs like this that will help them to go back out into the community and have an opportunity at a living wage," Hopper said.
Education and job skills are integral parts of the programs to help those who've battled addiction.
"We have 28 participants at this time, and we are ready to have up to 85 participants," Hopper noted.
The main goal is to invest in people.
"We've been focusing on building different facilities instead of focusing on what we're going to do for the individual that's coming in here," Hopper said.
After extremely positive reviews from the Department of Corrections, Hopper is encouraging representatives from other jails to visit Frankfort County Jail to see what they're doing with their SAP/SOAR Programs.
