ASH STREET JAIL LETS COUNSELING RESUME

Program aims to stop revolving door

NEW BEDFORD -- From behind the walls of the Ash Street jail, Jack Oliveira
tries to salvage lives brick by emotional brick.

"I thank God for giving me this second chance. I'm grateful that God has
given me the ability to do this," said Mr. Oliveira, a recovering alcoholic.

As officials at the jail revive substance-abuse programs at the
170-year-old jail after a three-month hiatus, Mr. Oliveira is the
cornerstone of the new effort.

The program -- aimed at men held awaiting trial -- is a first step in
helping substance abusers recognize and battle what are often life-long
alcohol and drug problems, said Mr. Oliveira, owner of the Rocking Horse
restaurant in Fall River.

Dealing with those problems might keep them from stepping through the jail
doors again, he said. "It can be a revolving door," Mr. Oliveira said.

The program's resumption follows a controversial -- and hotly debated --
decision by Sheriff Thomas Hodgson shortly before Christmas to cut all
counseling and substance-abuse programs at the jail in the midst of a
24-hour-a-day lockdown at the aging facility.

The crackdown came after jail officials uncovered an escape plan. In
response, they tightened security and limited prisoner movement.

The majority of the prisoners at the Ash Street jail are awaiting trial,
while those at the Faunce Corner jail in Dartmouth -- where there was no
interruption of counseling programs -- already have been convicted.

The new program at Ash Street is a positive step forward, said Greta
Janusz, one of a group of attorneys concerned about conditions at the jail.

"Of course, it's minimal, but something should be in place there," she said.

Providing substance-abuse counseling for those awaiting trial can be key in
changing lives for the better, she said.

"It is a critical time for them. There is a lot of self-analysis in the
beginning. They can go one way or another. If something positive is offered
to them, they can take a positive turn in their lives," she said. "If they
start in the beginning with counseling, more than likely they are going to
continue."

The new Ash Street program started after Sheriff Hodgson, who faced
criticism for changes at the New Bedford jail and who is now running for
re-election, developed a new classification system for prisoners. That
system classifies them based on their security risks, dangerousness and needs.

Bernard Sullivan, spokesman for the sheriff's office, said classifying
prisoners was key in getting help to the prisoners who needed it. "There
were some who were going to the programs before who didn't have the need,"
he said. "There was also a mingling of population, violent prisoners with
those there for, say, drunk driving, that was unnecessary and potentially
dangerous."

With the classification program in place, Mr. Oliveira said the
substance-abuse groups are running smoothly.

Reaching out to the prisoners is no different from extending a hand to
those on the street suffering from addictions, he said.

"They have the same problem as the men who wear suits and ties," Mr.
Oliveira, 56, said. "The only difference is they can't walk out the door at
3 o'clock."

Mr. Oliveira uses what he calls an "in your face" approach with the men at
the jail. "I've walked in those shoes. I know what they are going through,"
he said.

The bulk of the prisoners behind bars have some type of drug or alcohol
problem -- addictions that often fuel their crimes, he said.

"When you have that disease and you want that drink and want that drug,
nothing stands in your way," Mr. Oliveira said. For Joseph Andrews, a
former major-league baseball player, the love of the game took second place
to the love of booze.

"I knew I could not drink and play ball. It was give up the booze or give
up the sport. I gave up the sport," said Mr. Andrews, who walked away from
the Milwaukee Braves in 1957 at age 24.

Now 66, Mr. Andrews helps run the substance-abuse counseling sessions at
the Dartmouth jail and at the alcohol treatment center at the former St.
Mary's Home.

He and Mr. Oliveira said most prisoners leave jail with the best intentions
but fall back into the revolving door of substance abuse and crime, unsure
how to break the cycle.

More bridges between jail and the street -- such as halfway houses -- are
needed to keep prisoners from returning, they said.

What many don't realize soon enough, they said, is there is no choice but
to stop using drugs or alcohol.

"Institution, jail, death. That's what the choices are," Mr. Oliveira said.