FED UP — 04/10/08

Sat, May 17 2008

— Since becoming Boyd County jailer almost six years ago, Joe Burchett has watched the revolving door at the Boyd County Detention Center: Inmates are released from the jail only to return a short time later charged with new — and often more serious — offenses. But Burchett got tired of simply being an observer; he became fed up and decided to take a pro-active approach to stopping — or at least slowing — the revolving door.
The result is the creation of FED UP — Family Education of Drug Abuse Prevention — designed to help inmates break their addiction to alcohol and drugs that more often than not caused them to commit crimes to support their habits. Like many others, Burchett is convinced that if those incarcerated for mostly minor offenses can break their addiction to drug and/or alcohol, they are far less likely to return to jail once released.
FED UP, founded by Burchett and his wife, Debbie, organized a drug awareness rally conducted last Saturday in hopes of drawing more attention to the drug problem in this community. While attendance at the rally— about 150 — was disappointing to Burchett and other organizers, it did succeed in drawing more attention to both the drug problem in Boyd County and the program the Burchetts have started to combat it.
FED UP is an outgrowth of drug awareness and education efforts already taking place in the jail. Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous have been having meetings in the jail for the past several months, and Burchett has encouraged churches to both conduct services at the detention center and to offer counseling to inmates battling addiction.
The involvement of inmates in the drug and alcohol treatment programs and in the church services is strictly volunteer. That’s as it should be. Treatment programs for reluctant participants are sure to fail. Those addicted to drug and alcohol must first want to escape their habits. Even those who do truly want to get off drugs and booze find it difficult to break the habit and often relapse.
Sadly, the failure rate for nearly all drug treatment programs is high, but few things are more gratifying than to see someone defeat their addictions and become law-abiding, productive citizens. Such successes make it all worthwhile.
One of the major goals of FED UP is to construct a state-funded drug treatment center in northeast Kentucky. That is a goal we share. As we have said repeatedly in this space, it is far wiser to offer those who are addicted to drugs and alcohol treatment for those addictions instead of throwing them into jail. To his credit, that’s what Burchett is trying to do.
The best testimony for FED UP comes from seven inmates of the Boyd County Detention Center who signed an “In Your View” letter published March 30: “Inmates now have meetings (of AA and NA) and people there to guide them. Tension is law and hope is high. Words cannot adequately express our gratitude to the people who now are volunteering and to Joe and Debbie Burchett, who are taking money out of their own pockets to make a difference.”
We commend the Burchetts for making that difference.