FLORENCE -- Inmates getting released from jail could be just as scared as getting locked up. Florence County Sheriff Jeff Rickaby explains that often inmates are let go with little or no resources to get back on their feet. He hopes their Intense Supervision Program, or ISP, at the Florence County Jail will stop inmates returning through the revolving door.
"Our ISP Program is a program that tries to get inmates out of jail and back into the community as productive citizens," said Rickaby. "Even getting a few inmates not to return makes their lives better and saves taxpayers money."
Over 60 percent of those released wind up incarcerated again within three years. One-third of all the inmates in the ISP Program have been rehabilitated successfully, and although that's a low percentage, it makes a high impact on the safety of the community. The program helps inmates by getting them jobs while still incarcerated for work experience.
It also offers rehabilitation to inmates facing substance abuse problems to help them kick their bad habit. Haley Broullira, recently released from the Florence County Jail, says knowing "where to begin" is the hardest part.
"When you get out, you try to make a plan, but you don't know necessarily where to start," explains Broullira.
She's been incarcerated multiple times and hopes, thanks to the ISP Program, that this will be her last.
"My plan is just to get out, do meetings, and stay clean for a year," Broullira said. "Get the message out there that it's possible."
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