On Tuesday, Dec. 9, at 11 a.m. the fifth cohort of Incarceration Doesn’t Define Us (I.D.D.U.) graduates from Danville Adult Detention will receive their certificates of completion during a ceremony in the multipurpose room at 1 Community Way.
The cohort has 27 graduates total – the largest class to complete the I.D.D.U. program to date.
During the eight-week program, inmates commit to attending weekly training and information sessions about job readiness, housing, education opportunities, budgeting and more.
The program currently has 121 total individuals who have graduated from 15 total cohorts which includes Adult Detention.
Tuesday’s graduation will nearly double Adult Detention’s alumni from 29 to 56 and bring the overall graduate total to 148.
Graduates will give testimonies during the program Tuesday along with a message from Gene Beasley, Director of Adult Detention. Director Beasley notes how programs like I.D.D.U. make a positive difference in jail culture.
I.D.D.U. provides resources and assistance to residents who have recently been released from jail or have experienced hardship ease back into the community.
Since the program’s inception in 2021, Correctional Treatment Specialist Ashtyn Foddrell remains committed to being a reference and resource for all the I.D.D.U. graduates.
The successes of the I.D.D.U. program have been overwhelming, as Foddrell pointed out, because there have been graduates who have returned to school to receive their GED, earn a college degree, receive a commercial driver’s license, return to a previous occupation, and more.
Foddrell was invited to present the I.D.D.U. program at the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police Conference in 2022. In addition, other law enforcement agencies have reached out to her to learn how they can implement a similar I.D.D.U. program in their jurisdiction.
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