ASSIGNMENT: Provide Thanksgiving dinner for a young woman who has worked hard to turn her life around.
REFERRING OFFICER: Columbus Police Officer Rachel Thomas (CPD/Columbus Fire RREACT Team)
Officer Thomas contacted us to see if we knew of any places that were still giving away Thanksgiving dinners. One of the women she's been working with for over three years went to a giveaway shortly after it began, but the dinners were already handed out. We told her that we would be honored to provide food for Jody, especially after Officer Thomas shared her story:
"I met Jody in the Pathways Program which serves incarcerated women in Jackson Pike [women's jail]. Pathways is an organized 8-week prosocial group to stop the cycle of incarceration by identifying the choices that keep the ladies coming back to jail and providing wrap-around services upon release from Franklin County Jail. Jody is one of the total success stories. She reached out to me regularly when she was released and she did all of the recommended things she needed to do to maintain her recovery and reclaim a life she could be proud of."
Officer Thomas says that despite family and personal challenges, Jody has consistently made the choices she needs to make in order to stay on track. We're really happy to be able to provide this bit of holiday happiness to Jody via Officer Thomas, and we thank our donors for making that possible.
This photo of Jody and Officer Thomas was taken by Officer Carrie Mae Hazlerig, who also was an officer in the Pathways program and has similar ladies she keeps in contact with. Both officers are now on the RREACT task force, which among other things, follows up with individuals who have overdosed but refused medical treatment. RREACT provides them with information on available resources and treatment options. We love the work they're doing, and we're happy we got to touch base with two of their officers via this Assignment.
