FRANKFORT, Ky. (WDRB) -- Inside the Franklin County Regional Jail, it looks a bit different. Christmas decorations hang on the walls, creating a supportive environment for women in recovery.

"This right here creates an environment for them to be able to heal," Jailer Tracy Hopper said Monday.

For one inmate, whose identity is being kept anonymous, the road to recovery began with unimaginable pain.

"My child got burned up in front of me," she said. "From that moment on, my doctor put me on Xanax — which is an opioid — and I just went from there and spiraled out of control and never could regain a sense of what I was really doing."

For the next four decades, she cycled in and out of jail, with only one facility offering treatment. But it didn't provide the necessary support to stay sober.

"I'm living proof that does not work," she said.

Hopper has been "doing jail differently.

"I don't believe anybody woke up one morning and said 'I want to be addicted to drugs,'" Hopper said.

Her jail became the first in the state to house women in substance abuse programs separately from the general population, creating a dedicated space for recovery.

"We've got a captive audience here," Hopper said.

Inmates take 35 hours of recovery classes a week and meet with counselors to confront the trauma that led to their addiction. Once they finish treatment, they transition to a support program where they work in the community and set the stage for lifelong sobriety.

Hopper said cost is one of the reasons other jails don't offer similar programs

"(By) helping these women stay out of jail, I believe taxpayers will save in the long run," she said.

For the 60-year-old inmate, life before recovery felt hopeless.

"This program — it's the greatest opportunity I've ever had in my life," she said. 

After her release, the inmate plans to leave her hometown and start a new life. She wants to become a counselor to prevent other women from a lifetime behind bars.

"I never could get it right but I got it right now and I'm just thankful to God," she said.

By spring, the program will expand to help 80 women, and Hopper hopes other jails will follow suit in implementing similar programs.

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