Project HOPE & Project Fresh Start, Intense Addictions Focus Program

Named “PROJECT HOPE" by the participants, this fourteen-hour per day program at Henrico County's Jail East offers a long-term, jail-based addictive behaviors treatment program to inmates. The program consists of separate housing for participants which becomes a milieu in which persons can take a good, hard, honest look at themselves. Members are interviewed prior to being included in the program in order to determine their appropriateness and motivation for the program. This program is not funded by any additional taxpayer money and considered to be unique in its approach.

On August 15, 2000, a 36-bed therapeutic community was started at Henrico County Regional Jail East. PROJECT FRESH START consists of separate housing for participants, a twelve-hour per day schedule of activities. Members participate in five-week, twenty- five hour sessions of the pre-treatment, motivational program, "LIFE WITHOUT A CRUTCH." Upon completion of the initial five- weeks, they continue for at least three cycles as mentors on a decreasing frequency basis. Graduates of LWC immediately begin a twice-weekly relapse prevention group. Henrico Mental Health/ Substance Abuse jail team members facilitate these groups, participate in community meetings, offer guidance to security staff and direct the program.

Jail East pod housing participants in Project Hope. Inmates must show participation and obey the rules of the program. Currently 100 inmates are part of the addiction/abuse program

Applying the same theory to female addicts, New Beginnings offers parallel programs to "PROJECT FRESH START" and "PROJECT HOPE" to women with similar schedules and programming. Because of the unique recovery needs of women, specialized programs such as "HELPING WOMEN RECOVER" and numerous topics on healing after periods of abuse have been incorporated.