A newly released study of Lucas County jail inmates in a heroin-treatment program found many used the drug to self-medicate and suffered mental health problems.

Officials surveyed 34 men in the Treatment Reentry Awareness Community. Surveyors reviewed the users' lives, and what drew them to heroin.

Their findings largely depict a group repeatedly placed under arrest and facing a series of personal problems. Nearly 60 percent reported a diagnosed mental disorder, and 38 percent are unemployed.

Half sought out heroin as a means to boost emotions and feelings. An additional 35 percent said the drug's low cost attracted them.

Obtaining heroin in Lucas County is “very easy” for 64 percent of them, according to the survey.

Dr. Marion Boss and sheriff's office counselor Marc O'Neill shared their findings in a recent issue of Corrections Today, an American Correctional Association publication. Dr. Boss died last January.

“After interviewing heroin addicts, a sense of worthlessness and difficulty adjusting to one's life situation emerges,” they wrote. “Prolonged addiction increases the likelihood addicts will face a variety of emotional, physiological, and social problems.”

In interviews, the inmates spoke personally about life before and after heroin. Many shared a longing to improve themselves and mend relationships.

“I would love to let others know how I caught HIV through usage, or how my family has passed away or disowned me because of my choices,” one inmate said. “The only thing I can really let you guys know is I chose this life and I have to live with it.”

The jail program, commonly abbreviated as TRAC, has for a year and a half housed male inmates struggling with addiction. They reside together to receive on-site services while locked up at the jail.

Those offerings include counseling, employment classes, and Vivitrol shots. The medication helps those with opioid addictions.

Outside jail, former users often find frequent exposure to drugs, weak social support, and accidental overdose after a lowered tolerance.

The goal is laying a foundation for inmates who will eventually leave incarceration. Public officials, treatment providers, and law enforcement all help divert them.

This program has no additional cost to residents, saves lives, and reduces crime. Agency representatives come in to work with them, Sheriff John Tharp said.

“They have to do a self-evaluation. We know that people are not going to get clean and drug-free until they really want to,” Sheriff Tharp said.

He cited one inmate who was terrified to soon leave incarceration due to fearing relapse. An agency representative instead met him at the jail's exit and took him to treatment.

Mr. O'Neill said he hopes other jails across the country will emulate the program. Overcrowding is a problem, and officials want to do something about it, he said.

Inmates progress from initial withdrawals to a moment of clarity about their situation, Mr. O'Neill said.

“You have to give people a fighting chance. Look at the person they were before, and try to get them back,” Mr. O'Neill said.

Contact Ryan Dunn at rdunn@theblade.com, 419-724-6095, or on Twitter @RDunnBlade.

First Published October 16, 2017, 8:56 p.m.