I was gratified to read the letter of support for Sheriff Patrick Cahillane written by someone with long experience in the justice system. Our communities are improved by the existence of this high quality facility (Hampshire County Jail and House of Correction), as it serves the surrounding area locally. Families do not have to travel hours to visit their loved ones who have been detained, which promotes the mental health of inmates and the bonds of family especially for children of inmates. I would like to echo my support for Sheriff Cahillane. I was privileged to grow up with parents and an extended community that was involved in prison reform in the eastern part of Massachusetts in the 1970s. I learned about programming for incarcerated people that focused on education, preparing inmates for the transition back to the community and support for families of inmates. Decades later I became aware of services and programming at the Hampshire County jail through my work in a municipality and participation in efforts to address the opioid epidemic. What I view as so important at this local facility is the willingness to create new programming to serve inmates and their families. Hampshire County was one of the first entities to offer medication-assisted treatment for opiate dependence to inmates with substance use disorder. This is a critical program that helps inmates wishing to start their recovery and makes their release back into the community safer as it reduces their risk for overdose, which is vastly increased with sudden withdrawal from opiates while incarcerated. The sheriff has partnered with local non-profits, for example through the backpack program with the Easthampton Community Center, to distribute free backpacks of school supplies for children of inmates. These are just two examples of whole person programming that exists under Sheriff Cahillane’s leadership. I urge you to vote for him in November.
Julie Federman
Amherst