The Integrated Reentry and Correctional Support program (IRACS) is a pilot program launched in July 2022 to help individuals with mental health and substance use disorders. Choices runs the program in Dearborn County, one of five pilot sites in the state of Indiana funded by the Division of Mental Health and Addiction. From July through October, the five pilot sites combined served more than 1,400 inmates in Dearborn, Blackford, Daviess, Delaware, and Scott counties. In Dearborn County, the Choices team provided 1,700 opportunities to help more than 240 inmates.
The Choices IRACS team includes Aaron Spaulding, Supervisor and four staff, DJ Disbro, peer coordinator; Robert Garrett, forensic peer coordinator; Tricia Grimsley, reentry peer coordinator and Kindra Turner, resource navigator.
Visit Eagle Country for media coverage of a press conference in October touting the success of the program. And visit our webpage for more about the Choices Emergency Response Team.
About the Team Members
At left is the Integrated Reentry and Correctional Support program team outside the Dearborn County Government Center: Robert Garrett, Aaron Spaulding, Tricia Grimsley, Kindra Turner, and DJ Disbro.
Aaron Spaulding
The IRACS project coordinator, Aaron, has been in recovery since November 29, 2015. He started at Choices as a recovery support specialist and then was a wrap facilitator. He says he loves that at Choices, he’s able to work in a setting where he spends a lot of time in his life helping people with opportunities he never had.
He loves writing, poetry and the spoken word and has a blog on Facebook called Through the Eyes of an Addict. He also does public speaking on substance use and recovery at recovery events, schools, and community settings.
A single father of two daughters, 15 and 21 years old, Aaron enjoys traveling to new places and finding new adventures.
For more about Aaron, visit our website for a video of Aaron’s story.
DJ Disbro
One of the peer counselors in the Choices IRACS program, DJ has been in recovery since 2018 and as of November 2022, is engaged and expecting his first child. His favorite part of the job is getting to help people see there is hope.
His own story is that he spent five months in the Hamilton County Justice Center when he decided he needed to quit. He went from the justice center to Dearborn County where he completed the Jail Chemical Addiction Program (JCAP) and Drug Court to begin his recovery journey.
Today, after working for Choices for 3 years, he is a self-described gym rat who loves the steak and chicken combo at Texas Roadhouse.
Tricia Grimsley
A reentry peer counselor, Tricia has been sober since May 8, 2020. She started working at Choices in July 2022 and is proud that she overcame initial doubts about her ability as a counselor. “The fact that there was concern I had far too many years on the other side of the fence pushes me every single day!” she says. “It reminds me that there will always be those who doubt you, but no matter what, as long as I put my whole self and soul into something, I can do it! I choose to use (doubt) as fuel on my fire, not water.”
She loves that her work keeps her humble. It reminds her of where she once was in life and where she can quickly end back up. She also loves seeing people succeed and become a productive member of society again.
As for Tricia herself, she has a mini huskadoodle named Jackson, a chameleon named Cosmo and a tank full of fish her daughters named. And the newest addition to the family is a hedgehog. Her go-to meal is stuffed cheese manicotti from Olive Garden and it’s a toss up between the Rush Hour series and Tombstone as her favorite movie.
Robert Garrett
A forensic counselor on the IRACS team, Robert is 2.5 years sober as of November 2022 and he has been working at Choices since June 2022. What he likes best about his job is giving people hope and seeing the change in the people he works with. The best thing about working at Choices for him is that he’s involved in a huge program that could have a huge impact on reentry and people statewide. “I’m excited to see IRACS grow and see how many lives we can impact and change,” he says.
A little about Robert … he is happily married to his wife Blair and together they have four children. He enjoys riding his motorcycle and doing benefit and charity rides.
Kindra Turner
A resource navigator, Kindra hit her rock bottom when she was facing six years jail time and three years served. Luckily, she says, she had an amazing attorney and was accepted to drug court. “It was life-changing for me,” she says.
As of November 2022, she is a person in long term recovery – four years and 7 months clean from all substances. She is family-oriented and a mom, bonus mom and momaw as well as a fiance.
As a former EMT, she says that doing service work is something she takes pride in. “I’m a part of the Dearborn County Overdose Suicide Fatality Review Team. Being the voice of the ones who can’t speak for themselves is something I am really passionate about,” she says.
What she likes best about the work she does is being able to see the glow on her clients’ faces when they know they have a plan after release. “It’s a look in their eyes that you just can’t explain,” she says. “I also like that we have a good team that has each other’s backs and supports each other. Going to this job was the best decision I could have made for myself. I was terrified of the change but once I made the leap I don’t want to go back!”
Kindra (far right) with her fiance, children, bonus children, grandbabies and best friend.
