CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. — Chesterfield County Jail's addiction recovery program was one of only three therapy projects in the world selected to help lead an international symposium on trauma therapy in Rwanda last month.
Since its inception, the jail's "Helping Addicts Recover Progressively" or "HARP" program, has grown on both a national and international scale.
The program's TikTok videos about "Tapping Tuesdays," which highlighted the meditative technique known to help regulate the nervous system, garnered thousands of views and even got the attention of country music star Jelly Roll.
It's also worked with researchers across Europe to find other easy-to-use trauma therapies, like "havening."
January's trip to Rwanda focused on sharing best practices using trauma tools within Rwandan prisons, schools, and refugee groups.
"To be part of that solution worldwide is really humbling and it's nothing we ever envisioned in this program ever, and even going beyond this wall," said Chesterfield County Sheriff Karl Leonard. "This program was just for Chesterfield County and it's now not only nationwide, but it's international."
"To be even a little part of that, we were like, what an honor," said HARP Director Kerri Rhodes. "We both were like, 'Us?'"
Rhodes and Leonard said the techniques transcended language barriers.
"To see that they're using a lot of the same practices that you're practicing, and that people are healing and they're getting relief, and it's not clinicians, it's deputies and guards and sheriffs, and just regular people, peers, it's everybody," Rhodes said. "To be in that space with those kinds of folks and to be able to listen to the stories and the kind of work that they're doing, it's incredibly inspiring," Rhodes said.
"They started to tell their stories, and we started to say, 'That's Allen, that's Jennifer,'" Leonard said, noting the similarities between the HARP program and a Rwandan prison's program. "We were like, 'These are our people.' And it looked and felt just like we were in here and never left."
Leonard said HARP's recidivism rate is 23 percent, compared to 70 percent nationally. HARP will soon be part of an international study, set to show the impact of its trauma tools like tapping, used beyond borders or language barriers.
"I think healing is pretty universal, and caring and loving people is pretty universal, so we got to spend time with people that were just, man, they were amazing," Rhodes said.
On February 14, a tribute song to the HARP program will be released on Spotify. The song is titled "Back Into the Light," written by Ulf Sandstrom, a globally known specialist in trauma therapy who visited the jail last year. All proceeds from Spotify will go to the HARP-RVA nonprofit.
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
📲: CONNECT WITH US
Blue Sky| Facebook| Instagram| X| Threads| TikTok| YouTube
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
