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| Summer Public Health Academy |
July 6, 2022 was the one-year anniversary of conducting One-Stop Shops in the Community Corrections Center (CCC). The St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office Corrections Division recently hosted Dr. Meena Brewster, Health Officer of the St. Mary’s County Health Department, and 11 students from the Summer Public Health Academy for a tour of the St. Mary’s County Detention and Rehabilitation Center as well as the Community Corrections Center in Leonardtown. The academy participants received a presentation on the Corrections Division Health Equity Mission.
“Our community partners have always played a powerful role in recovery and rehabilitation for our offender population,” Warden Mary Ann Thompson said. “During the pandemic, these partnerships played a critical role of providing services in the new normal. On the one-year anniversary of the CCC’s One-Stop Shop it is a great time to reflect on the power of partnerships and what may be accomplished as working as a team to have the best possible safety net of services from incarceration to community. We look forward to continuing public safety and addressing gaps in services for the best possible outcomes for our offenders,” she said.
“It is wonderful to see the health impact of this facility and the community teamwork behind it," Dr. Brewster added. "The Community Corrections Center is directly benefiting the lives of residents and families in St. Mary's County. It is expanding access to mental health treatment, substance use recovery, and other wellness services that heal lives and promote public safety."
The One-Stop Shop at the CCC began on July 6, 2021, with 16 offenders with staff from Parole and Probation and Pre-Trial Supervision, Walden Peer Recovery Specialists, case managers and the county library system.
The St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office Corrections Division’s health equity mission includes: Advance equity in public safety, health and education; Expand access to behavioral health evaluation and treatment, including mental health and substance use disorder; collaborate with community partners to address gaps in health care, education and other life needs in order to support meaningful rehabilitation and mitigate factors contributing to crime and continue medical and behavioral health services to the detention center and pre-trial release populations while meeting the safety recommendations of the COVID-19 pandemic.
