Tails of Recovery. Nancy A. Schenck

      BENEFITS OF ANIMAL-ASSISTED PROGRAMS IN CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTIONS

      The first prison dog programs began in the 1980s as a way to improve prison conditions and help inmates become contributing members of society. They began in women’s prisons, but now can be found in many correctional institutions around the country. The concept behind these programs is that dogs that are to be used as service animals for individuals with disabilities (e.g., guide dogs for the blind) or as police dogs need months of dedicated training, and prisoners have the time and can establish the routine needed to accomplish this. The inmates learn usable job skills, practice responsibility and commitment, and become less self-centered. Professional dog trainers assist in the process.

      The programs have proven to be beneficial in rehabilitating prisoners, as well as benefiting society and many unwanted animals (most of the dogs used are rescued from shelters). Most prison dog programs are run by outside volunteer organizations, not by the prisons or the government. After the inmates complete their training period, most dogs are given to a guide dog school or law enforcement agency for placement or further training. Some programs use the inmate training to make dogs more adoptable and after training is complete, the dogs are able to be placed in permanent homes.

      Drug abuse is, without question, one of the greatest health issues facing society today. The tentacles of addiction reach into every level of American life. Directly or indirectly, every family, every business, and every community is affected by drug abuse and addiction. Drugs take a catastrophic toll on our society. Consider the following from the Bureau of Justice Statistics:

      

Fifty-three percent of state inmates and 45 percent of federal inmates were abusing or dependent on drugs in the year before their admission to prison. Abuse included repeated drug use in hazardous situations or recurrent occupational, educational, legal, or social problems caused by drug use.

      

Forty-seven percent of violent offenders in state prison met the criteria for recent drug dependence or abuse; 28 percent committed their current offense while under the influence of drugs. Ten percent said that the need to get money for drugs was a motive in their crimes.

      

Fifty-six percent of state inmates used drugs in the month before the offense in 2004, while 32 percent committed their current offense under the influence of drugs. One in six state inmates committed their current offense to get money for drugs. Marijuana remained the most commonly used drug, with 40 percent reporting use in the month before the offense, followed by cocaine or crack (21 percent), stimulants (12 percent), and heroin and other opiates (8 percent).

      

Reports of prior drug use by federal prisoners rose on all measures between 1997 and 2004. Among federal inmates, drug use in the month before the offense rose from 45 percent to 50 percent and use at the time of the offense increased from 22 percent to 26 percent. These changes were the result of an increased use of marijuana, methamphetamines, and Ecstasy.

       No place left to go

      It’s hard to imagine how individuals caught in the destructive cycle of addiction can continue to do the things they do to nurture and feed the disease. Their lives crumble before their eyes as their families dissolve and their friends leave them. Yet the only focus, the only reason to live is to get and use more drugs. Nothing else matters more than the drugs that are beckoning the addict to certain death.

      Addiction causes emotional and spiritual death, and in time, will result in physical death. But death is not the only way addiction can end, and in fact, some in active addiction often wish for death to bring a welcome end to their suffering. Prison and mental institutions are common stops en route to the addict’s final resting place. These places can provide a last opportunity for the addict to discover the depths to which he or she has spiraled. As long as life remains, though, recovery is possible.

      I struggled with the challenge of how to present the following story, for it graphically illustrates how appalling and destructive addiction is. However, the story of recovery and the hope it offers cannot be told without telling the story of the horror living in active addiction often brings. What is shared here is unsettling and tragic. Unfortunately, this exemplifies the true nature of addiction.

      The next story from one recovering addict will be difficult to read, but it captures the horror of what this devastating disease can lead a person to do.

      SECOND CHANCE

      My name is Frank, and I am an addict. I am clean and have been in recovery for twenty-one years.

      Writing this is bittersweet. It entails recalling the two most painful circumstances I have ever experienced. In fact, even as I write, my grieving process is less than thirty days old, which makes it all the more difficult. But I have a story I think needs telling.