CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. — Country music star Jason DeFord, known as Jelly Roll, made a pit-stop at Chesterfield County Jail Wednesday, hoping to catch up with the jail's Helping Addicts Recover Progressively(HARP) participants while on tour.
The program, which specializes in treating incarcerated individuals battling addiction with a multitude of therapies, like tapping and other trauma-informed techniques, puts an emphasis on sharing personal stories through music, art, and poetry.
"We've been doing a whole lot with like, therapy, and then really getting to the root of the causes of the addiction," one participant named Gus told CBS 6. "It's so much more than just the drug use. That's just what we use to numb our feelings and things we keep bottled up."
The program is led by Sheriff Karl Leonard and specialist Kerri Rhodes, who lost her own son to an overdose.
The battle with addiction, as well as the feeling of losing someone to an overdose, is something the Grammy-nominated artist from the Nashville area knows all too well.
DeFord says he spent a good portion of his young adult behind bars, battling addiction.
WATCH: Jelly Roll surprises inmates at Virginia jail after viral TikTok request
He visited the HARP program last year, the same year he won the title of New Artist of the Year at the Country Music Awards, after seeing the group go viral on TikTok for tapping, a trauma-based therapy that helps regulate the nervous system and can be used to combat anxiety and stress.
"I don't say this lightly. I go to jails every day, three to five days a week, all across America, every time I'm touring. This is one of the top two most elite programs and one of the most vision-forward sheriffs I've ever met," DeFord said. "You feel change in there. You feel love. Jail is dark. It is a very dark place, and I have never seen a jail room lit up more than the HARP program both times I've been here."
During the visit, HARP participants sang some of Jelly Roll's songs with him and performed their own renditions.
Several participants said his music about addiction, sobriety, and loss, and the range of emotions that come with it, is something they relate to.
"It's very rare when you get an artist of his caliber that can speak from where you could speak or be heard at that kind of level," one participant named Ejay, citing his newly released album "Beautifully Broken."
WATCH: These Virginia inmates are learning trauma therapies: 'A strong glimmer of hope'
The HARP program has received national attention over the last year due to its TikTok. Earlier this year, Senator Warner stopped by the jail to learn more about why the program is considered extremely successful, as many participants become Peer Recovery Specialists, mentors, and then, once leaving the jail, come back to provide assistance or mentorship.
"Y'all should be proud of this," DeFord said. "People are getting sober, people are changing their lives, people are becoming parents again."
Earlier this year, DeFord spoke on Capitol Hill asking for more legislative action targeting fentanyl.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, about 150 people die every day from overdoses related to synthetic opioids like fentanyl.
The moments spent with those now in recovery, who relate to his experience, is something DeFord says makes him emotional.
"I almost cried, watching everybody sing back to you. It's a little different here because this is who I'm thinking about when I'm writing more often than not. Not necessarily inmates, but just broken people. But there's a lot of broken people in here trying to pick up the pieces," DeFord said.
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
📲: CONNECT WITH US
Facebook|Instagram|X|Threads|TikTok
EAT IT, VIRGINIA restaurant news and interviews
