Inmates graduate from Prime For Life

The Rabun County Sheriff’s Office shared the excitement with nine female inmates who on Tuesday night graduated from Prime For Life — a drug rehabilitation course designed to help inmates battle their addictions and prepare for the future.

The course is a 20-hour self-motivated evidence-based course taught by Howard Dowdle. The treatment program allows inmates to learn about high-risk situations while facing addiction and how to avoid certain lifestyle habits that could hinder their sobriety.

All nine female inmates successfully completed the course and received graduation certificates Tuesday night that proved their dedication to recovery, have struggled with some form of drug abuse or addiction prior to incarceration.

According to most of the women in attendance of the Prime For Life course, had this program not been implemented into the jail, their perception of recovery might have turned out differently.

One inmate who chose to remain anonymous explained how she comes from a genetic line of addicts which has predispositioned her to have the same result.

“My mom, aunt and sister are all on meth which doesn’t make it any easier for me trying to stay clean,” she said. “With the help of Prime For Life and having the support from this group, I’ve learned that although we can’t choose our genetics we can make healthier choices and be the best versions of ourselves possible.”

Another inmate said the motivating reason behind working towards her sobriety was due to wanting to be clean for her daughter.

As a part of an exercise Tuesday night, the women were instructed to write personal letters to someone they knew who could benefit from the Prime For Life teachings.

As each woman read thier personal accounts of the uphill battle that has been their recovery, it was evident to see just how much of an impact Prime For Life had made on these inmates.

Dowdle emphasized that the main difference between Prime for Life and other substance-abuse treatment programs which are often conducted through long stints of time is that the participants are guided in self-assessing their own level of progress toward or into dependence or addiction.