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PORTLAND, Maine

UNE WCHP students and faculty partner with Cumberland County Jail to provide free wellness services to inmates

In an effort to address Maine’s rising drug addiction epidemic, students from the University of New England’s Westbrook College of Health Professions, ANEW Approach and the Cumberland County Jail (CCJ) are joining forces to pilot a new treatment program for inmates. Throughout this 30 day trial program, UNE students, faculty and alumni will volunteer their services at no cost to the county to provide intensive drug treatment, stress management, nutrition, exercise and hygiene classes, as well as reentry planning to help participants recover and successfully reintegrate after their release. After 30 days, the program will close unless program funding is arranged.

As Maine reported the second highest percentage of total drug arrests in New England in 2010, experts are looking to rehabilitation programs, particularly in controlled environments like the CCJ, to prevent future crime. The treatment model implemented by UNE addresses the need for structure, rule adherence, and social support systems as well as emotional, physical and spiritual change in recovery. In addition to intensive drug treatment, participants will also be engaged in education and job training opportunities offered by CCJ’s education department. After the 30 days are up, UNE and partners will regroup to evaluate the program’s success, and will begin seeking grant funding to sustain it for the future.

“I see our facility as a clinical education setting,” said Kevin Joyce, sheriff of the Cumberland County Jail. “Students gain valuable hands-on experience from clients who will benefit from their help, allowing us to release inmates in a better condition than when they came to us. It’s a win-win-win situation for everyone involved.”

This project is the latest in a series of collaborations between UNE and the CCJ over the past two years. Students have also participated in a “Crimes and Communities” class which is taught to inmates and UNE students inside the jail, and facilitated support groups as well as “Weekly Wellness Workshops” in which interprofessional teams of students and faculty teach health and wellness using a curriculum designed with inmate input.

“The collaboration between UNE and the CCJ is truly remarkable,” said Claire, a UNE Social Work Student volunteering at the CCJ. “I have had the privilege of getting to witness and be involved in various opportunities with the CCJ, but this pilot program feels the most significant of all we’ve done. For me, it’s important to remember these men are a part of our community, and will return to our communities, and we all have the power to impact each other in big and small ways. Each and every time I go into the jail, I like to think that we can give those inside the jail walls an opportunity to positively impact lives on the outside.”

About the University of New England

The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.