This program is still in the concept stages and may evolve in it’s scope as we join with other organizations and agencies. There is currently no funding or any support outside RIPPLE for this project at this time.
Prison and Community Transition or PaCT Program: We are teaming up with other Recovery Support Specialists with the hopes of creating a program that will benefit peers living with mental illness and addiction who are currently incarcerated. A proposal is currently being drafted, and it will be presented to both the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services as well as the Department of Corrections in the state of Connecticut.
The proposal which consists of a three-pronged approach, our first goal is to create an educational program where certified Recovery Support Specialists would facilitate support groups for inmates still inside the prison environment. The second part and most important would be to create a peer mentor program within the prison itself. The third phase of this program would be to provide information and resources for those who are about to be discharged to the community. Recidivism is a huge problem in our jails. Some inmates come and go as if walking through a revolving door. This program will provide an information packet outlining all of the resources within the region of the state they are about to call home once again.
