Partner Letters — Secure Care for Kent

“Medical, behavioral health, substance use, and recovery-related needs do not end when custody begins or when an individual is released.”

September 24, 2026

To Chief Deputy Lyndsie Cole:

Re: Letter of Support for Kent County Sheriff’s Office

Family Outreach Center (FOC) is proud to partner with the Kent County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) in providing services within the Kent County Correctional Facility (KCCF). Our mission is “Leading the way in promoting healthy family living by reaching out to underserved populations and those who are low income in our community. “Through our partnership with KCSO, Family Outreach Center can further this mission by providing quality, culturally responsive, and accessible behavioral health and substance use services to individuals involved in the criminal justice system.

Many individuals entering the correctional system have experienced limited or inconsistent access to mental health, substance use treatment, recovery support, and other services in the community. Incarceration can provide an important opportunity to identify needs that may have previously gone untreated and connect individuals with appropriate support. While individuals are in our care, we work to ensure they have access to qualified professionals and services regardless of their background or circumstances.

Our mental health programming focuses on individuals who may be at risk, assessing suicide and self-harm concerns, developing safety plans, monitoring changes in behavior and mental health status, responding to crises, and collaborating closely with correctional and medical staff. Early identification and intervention can help prevent concerns from escalating while ensuring individuals receive appropriate support when they need it the most. Alongside mental health services, access to medicated assisted treatment, recovery programming, discharge planning and reentry planning creates a broader continuum of car that supports stabilization during incarceration.

Continuity of care is a particularly important aspect of this work. Medical, behavioral health, substance use, and recovery-related needs do not end when custody begins or when an individual is released. Progress made during incarceration can be difficult to maintain after release, particularly when individuals are unsure where to turn for continued care and support. Maintaining appropriate services during custody and establishing connections to care, treatment, recovery supports, housing, employment resources, and other community-based services following release can help reduce disruptions in care and support a more stable transition into the community.

Effective clinical and treatment services also contribute to safer and more effective correctional operations. When individuals have access to appropriate medical and behavioral health care, substance use disorder treatment, recovery services, and reentry planning, correctional personnel and service providers are better positioned to address underlying needs, manage risk, maintain stability, and support constructive participation in programming. These services are an important component of a comprehensive approach to safe custody and successful reentry.

The benefits extend beyond the correctional setting. Strong connections to health care, behavioral health services, substance use disorder treatment, recovery resources, and community-based supports can promote continuity of care after release and strengthen the individual’s ability to successfully reintegrate into the community. In turn, effective reentry services can support community health, family stability, employment and housing connections, treatment engagement, and public safety.

For these reasons, Family Outreach Center supports continued investment in Jail Mat Programming and Jail Mental Health and the resources necessary to sustain these services. Maintaining strong and dependable programs allows Family Outreach Center and KCSO to continue providing meaningful support throughout incarceration while helping individuals build connections to the care and resources, they may need upon release.

We value our collaboration with Kent County Sheriff’s Office and Kent County Correctional Facility and recognize the important role these services play in supporting safe custody, effective treatment, successful reentry, community health, and public safety. We respectfully encourage continued support for the partnerships, personnel, programming and resources necessary to sustain this work.

Sincerely,

Dr. Veneese V. Chandler
Executive Director/CEO
Family Outreach Center, Inc.
1939 S. Division Avenue, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49507

“Without them, incarceration risks becoming simply a place to hold people; with them, it can become an opportunity for accountability, healing, growth, and preparation for a different future.”

Sept. 15, 2026

To the Kent County Sheriff’s Office,

For 60 years, Reach the Forgotten has been privileged to work alongside the Kent County Sheriff’s Office, providing spiritual care and programming to individuals within the Kent County Correctional Facility. We are grateful for a partnership that recognizes incarceration can be a place for meaningful change.

With the priority KCSO places on medical, mental health, substance use recovery, spiritual care, and reentry services, this allows the facility to work in conjunction with community partners to address the needs of the whole person. Just as importantly, connecting that work with resources outside the jail helps individuals continue the progress they have made as they return to their families and communities.

When underlying needs are addressed during incarceration and individuals have support upon release, we believe there is a greater opportunity for successful reentry, healthier communities, and improved public safety. The majority of citizens incarcerated will return to the community, so the work that begins inside the jail cannot simply end at the jail doors. A successful partnership with KSCO and dependable resources make this possible. Without them, incarceration risks becoming simply a place to hold people; with them, it can become an opportunity for accountability, healing, growth, and preparation for a different future.

Reach the Forgotten is grateful to serve alongside the Kent County Sheriff’s Office in this important work.

Reach the Forgotten authorizes the Kent County Sheriff’s Office to share this letter, our organization’s name, and quotations from it as part of community education efforts.

Sincerely,

Scott Hall
Co-Executive Director
Reach the Forgotten
1480 Buchanan Ave SW, Grand Rapids, MI 49507

In their own words.

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