AUSTIN, Ind. (WDRB) -- Dangerous drugs have long gripped Austin, Indiana, and the Scott County Jail has seen the many faces of addiction from it.

“I was in there for a couple of days,” said Lindsey Huff. “In 2018, I was arrested and incarcerated in the Scott County Jail.”

She struggled with both alcohol and drug abuse and said, "It was really whatever I could get.”

Huff has since turned her life around and now works for THRIVE, a program that helps others recover from addiction.

Through a recent grant awarded to THRIVE from the Indiana Forensics Support Services Integrated Mental Health America of Indiana, Huff will use her personal perspective to connect and help others struggling from addiction through the Integrated Reentry and Correctional Support Program (IRACS).

“I will be their peer coach — I will handle any communications with probation officers, prosecutors; anything involved with the courts,” said Huff.

The new program will be implemented in five Indiana counties.

THRIVE’s Executive Director, Phil Stucky says the program is peer-driven, which is unlike any other program in the state.

“So not only will there be peer-led groups that are going to be inside the jail — we’re going to be able to touch every individual that enters incarceration,” said Stucky. “People that are weekend stayers that bond out by Monday morning, we’ll be able to touch the people going back to DOC (Department of Corrections), we’re going to be able to touch the people there for long-term.” 

Huff says it's these life-changing connections that were needed during her time behind bars and today.

“Having somebody that is right there, ready to take you on and get you the resources that you need, it’s going to be huge,” she said.

According to the Scott County Sheriff’s Office, the jail has two recovery programs already in place.

The Jail Chemical Addiction Program or JCAP, which is a 4-month substance abuse treatment program implemented in 2019 and GRACE, which provides support for pregnant women suffering from addiction.

Sheriff Jerry Goodin says the new program is in its final stages of approval. If everything goes accordingly, THRIVE’s program will start in June.

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