Southwestern Regional Day Report Center Quarterly Report

Abstract

Rachel spent her fellowship in West Virginia (pop. 22,000) with the Southwestern Regional Day Report Center (SRDRC) implementing a Fresh Start Program in Logan County for those leaving prison for drug offenses. At the center of the program was agricultural and artisan programming, aimed at reconnecting clients with their communities. The program offers community mentoring, interagency teamwork, life-based skills, and credit attainment through the local community college. She will also help neighboring Boone County set up a Family Treatment Court.

Boone County has been one of the hardest hit communities by the Opioid Epidemic. One pharmacy filled enough opiate prescriptions to give more than 100 pills per year for every man, woman, and child in the county. The epidemic has also cost Boone County the greatest amount per capita of any county in the United States.

Rubin studied the most harmful aspects of drug use in Boone County and how that might be mitigated.