At 70-years-old Charles Taylor has spent most of his life behind bars.
"I stopped counting at 10," he said of how many times he's been in jail.
His drug of choice? Heroin and cocaine.
It’s what he says has kept him coming back to jail.
"It’s just so hard to find someone that assists you in trying to change your life," he said.
Enter Kane County Sheriff Ron Hain.
"They all begged me for addiction counseling," he said. "We’ve given them a taste of it. They’re finally starting to realize, if I had had this addiction counseling at some point in my life, I wouldn’t be where I am right now."
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More than half of the Kane County jail population suffers from opioid withdrawal, according to the sheriff. More than 80 percent of those locked up are believed to have an addiction.
With more than 30,000 square feet of unused space in the jail—Hain is piloting a drug treatment program and plans to open a treatment facility.
"This entire space can be used for bedding and meeting space, offices," he said. "Half of this will be for walk-in care."
Right now commissary revenue funds the pilot program. Soon, though, the space could be leased out by drug treatment centers— providing funding for the project— which will also include job placement.
"Especially when I now have 30 diversion officers involved that are sitting down in this uniform," Hain said. "Looks like a police uniform, across from a black man in his 40s and 50s who’ve never had a good relationship with a police officer, he’s going, my God, I never realized someone in uniform actually wanted to help me."
For Taylor— who’s seen the world through bars— he’s ready for the world to see him.
"We need some positive interaction and I want to be a part of that," he said.
