Female Inmates Graduated from Drug Program

A group of 17 female inmates at the Lexington County Detention Center will be honored on Wednesday when they become the first females to be graduated from a special program to help them beat their alcohol and drug addictions.

The graduation ceremony will take place at 12:30 p.m. in a courtroom adjacent to the detention center. The program is an eight-week course that the LRADAC/The Behavioral Health Center of the Midlands administers at the center, said Lexington Sheriff James Metts.

During the program, a clinical addictions counselor with LRADAC met for one hour once a week with the 17 inmates, Metts said in a release. 

"The drug and alcohol treatment program is designed to help inmates confront and conquer addictive compulsive behaviors that could lead them to commit additional crimes after they are released from the Detention Center. Inmates who participate in the drug and alcohol treatment program learn skills that will help them avoid situations in which their sobriety could be compromised after they are released from the Detention Center," Metts said. 

The inmates also receive individual relapse prevention plans that will help them engage in healthy activities that do not include the use of alcohol or drugs, he added.

"Inmates who participate in the program also learn how to develop and maintain healthy relationships with other people, how to improve their physical and mental health and how to enhance their self-esteem, social skills, and motivation to lead productive lives," Metts said.

Metts said the following 17 inmates successfully completed drug and alcohol treatment:

• Erica Branham
• Katie Chiles
• Karen Davis
• Margaret Driggers
• Colleen Erdies
• Mignonette Evans
• Amanda Furr
• Lakeitha Glover
• Angela Kolesar
• Brenda Kuhn
• Kacey Long
• Helen Munger
• Ashley Ochoa
• Amanda Smith
• Hope Stabley
• Angela Toscano
• Laura Winters