Sheriff's STAR on the rise: Coppinger seeks to bridge the gap between cities and jails

Courtesy itemlive

By Charlie McKenna

ITEMLIVE.COM

LYNN — Essex County Sheriff Kevin Coppinger’s STAR program, short for Supporting Transitions and Reentry, is not just a way for those getting out of jail to receive the support they need to transition back into their normal lives. It also serves, in many cases, as an alternative to going to jail in the first place.

One of Coppinger’s primary goals in launching the program, which began operations in mid-April, was to help bridge the gap between jails and communities so that those getting out of jail could continue taking advantage of the programs offered while they were incarcerated like substance abuse treatment, mental health treatment, and more after they were released.

“The gap here is there was no connection when they leave.… We can refer to community programs but there’s never really that link. We created STAR to bridge that gap,” he told The Item in June. 

In a tour of the program’s Willow Street facility Thursday morning, Coppinger said one of the key facets of the program was its ability to work within the community to prevent people from ending up in the criminal justice system in the first place, or to help prevent them from being cycled through the system multiple times. 

“It’s a preemptive strike, prevention, and that’s huge, because that’s less stress on the individual,” Coppinger, who served as chief of police in Lynn before being elected sheriff in 2016, said. “The purpose of the STAR program is to keep all the services we’re doing connected with the individuals and expand as we need.”

“We’re putting the resources in front of these guys and ladies, we can’t force them. But I think sometimes gentle persuasion maybe is the word … we got adaptable hours to people’s schedules, and I just think it works,” he continued.

Assistant Superintendent Jessica Oljey stressed the importance of the community partnerships developed through the program, and cited the relationship between STAR and the Lynn Police Department — particularly the department’s bike unit — as critical to the program’s early success.

“One of the pieces that we’re most excited about when we opened in April, was really the community partner piece that really anyone could make a referral to the program,” Oljey said. “Our partnership with the Lynn Police has been phenomenal. Since April, they made 14 referrals. It’s really a testament to the relationship that these guys are building with individuals in our communities and on the streets.”

In all, the program has serviced 50 people since April, Oljey said, and currently has 15 enrolled, with 30 referrals pending. She said the program could serve dozens more.

“Because the program has so many strong community connections, I would expect that we can, we can positively serve 100 because many of them will be participating in activities in the community with our support,” she said. 

STAR offers a wide array of programs, and no two individuals’ paths through the program are alike due to the individualized nature of the treatment, Coppinger said.

“The STAR program really concentrates on the strengths and weaknesses of the individual involved. You’re looking at individual treatment versus just a generic cookie cutter you buy off the shelf and one size fits for all,” he said.

The Sheriff’s Department has partnered with Northern Essex Community College and North Shore Community College to provide educational programs through STAR, and the program also offers clinical services alongside substance abuse treatment. Inside the facility, there are a number of classrooms, as well as a tech lab where participants can work with computers, and a drug lab where randomized drug testing takes place.

“More than 80 percent of our population struggle with substances, and similarly, probably about that are also struggling with a mental health concern, whether it’s anxiety, depression, you know, the folks that are coming to receive services from the program are dealing with a lot of issues and really need a lot of support to help them successfully and remain in the community and have a fulfilling life,” Oljey said. 

Most of the educational programs offered by STAR focus on helping those enrolled get their high school equivalency, with math and language arts serving as two key areas of focus, according to STAR Director Stacie Bloxham.

STAR offers differing levels of support for individuals, with those needing the least support typically graduating in three months and those needing the most support graduating in six to eight months. But, Bloxham noted that the program’s services are offered for as long as those enrolled want to use them.

“As long as people are in good standing when they leave, and maybe they just decide they want to do something different and they have other goals that they want to work on or if their plan kind of falls apart a little bit and they need some extra support our doors are always open for folks to come back,” she said. “We’ve had people just come and ring the doorbell and say, ‘I heard about your program. Can I come in?’ ‘We’re like, sure, come on in’ and so word’s getting out and we’re happy to help people in any way.”

Robert Morel, 30, of Salem, said he decided to join the STAR program because he wanted to continue the services he had used while incarcerated. 

He said STAR has helped him put the pieces of his life back together.

“I lost everything, If I didn’t have this I don’t know really what I would have done,” he said. “It’s a little bit of a slow process but every day gets a little bit better.”

Morel said the program is only what you make of it.

“You gotta help yourself, if you don’t you don’t have that initiative to help yourself. They can only help so much,” he said. “I see this program being very beneficial to people but they have to utilize it.”

On Thursday, 22-year-old Shyanne Pike, of Lynn, was working with an instructor from Northern Essex Community College to study for her GED. 

“I had dropped out of high school and they said that they were willing to help with the GED, I wouldn’t have to really travel outside to go to classes. I wouldn’t have to travel to go take the test. They come here, they’re very accommodating. So I did it all here because I didn’t have to transport anywhere. I didn’t have to pay for anything out of my pocket,” Pike said.

After roughly two months with the program, Pike said she has taken a lot from STAR.

“I really like this place,” she said. “I’ve done two GED tests so far, and before starting, I was not that great in the books. I scored college level on both of those tests. I did anger management here for a little bit … and it was excellent and helps me manage my anger a little more. So I really just take it a lot from this place as a whole.” 

“There wasn’t something like this in Lynn before this was here,” she continued.