SEBASTIAN COUNTY, Ark. — P.A.C.T stands for Peer Achieving Collaborative Treatment, designed to help men and women recover from addiction and find their life's purpose.
The future is bright for the 2024 P.A.C.T graduates of the Sebastian County detention center. At the ceremony, tears were shed and graduates' faith and hope were restored.
"It gave me tools so that when I hit the ground running out here in society... I didn't run to the drug man's house, I ran in the other direction. The pact program gave me a foundation," said graduate Shawn Harris.
The P.A.C.T. program started four years ago through a grant process with the Department of Human Services (DHS).
Each year the jail has two separate groups of 10 non-violent offenders, both men and women.
"We are one of the few recovery programs in jails that is strictly voluntary. They are not appointed by the court to come to us. So the first step they've already taken is coming to us and saying, 'Hey, I need help.' The only thing that we promise them when they begin the P.A.C.T. program is that we're going to help them get to recovery," said General Administrator Captain William Dumas.
While they're in the year-long program, they learn life skills that help them find careers, or go back to school.
"We offer all different kinds of paths for them, whether it's faith-based, or 12 steps. We start teaching them life skills. We actually have volunteers that come in to do parenting classes, and anger management classes," said Dumas. "If they need their GED, we get them a GED teacher. If they already have their GED, we started looking at adult education. If they want to go to college, we get them into college programs."
Harris says without P.A.C.T. he would have gone right back into addiction.
"When I got out of jail, I would have gone right back into addiction, like I've done so many times over and over again. Now I have a stable home, I have almost 18 months clean, and I have a career in maintenance," said Harris.
Captain Dumas has worked in law enforcement for over 20 years, specifically in drug interdiction. He says when he started it was all about putting people in jail for drugs.
"We did not help the process. We actually made it worse because they weren't getting any help," said Dumas. "An addiction is a medical problem ... I never saw recovery work in law enforcement until we started these programs."
And because of these programs, the graduates say they've gained a second chance at life and a family.
Harris says, "Who would have thought that a bunch of convicts getting together to get clean could get clean? I mean, it's amazing."
Another graduate Rose Ayers said "I love it, it's like winning the lottery, it really is. It's a lottery of a new life instead of a million dollars. This recovery process is worth more than money could ever buy."
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