Boone County has awarded a contract to in2Action to run a Peer Navigator program for people leaving the Boone County Jail — a practical, person-to-person effort to help people land on their feet instead of cycling back through the system.
Who it’s for: people currently detained in the jail, and anyone released within the past 12 months.
What it does: Peer Navigators build a personalized reentry plan with each participant and make “warm handoffs” — direct, supported connections rather than a phone number and good luck — to community resources: medication-assisted treatment, behavioral health care, housing help, employment support, and other recovery-focused services.
How it’s paid for: the program runs through Boone County’s Opioid Addiction Treatment and Recovery Fund — money the county received from opioid settlement payouts, now going toward exactly the kind of on-the-ground support those settlements were meant to fund.
“By connecting individuals leaving detention with critical support services, we are helping people successfully transition back into our community and reducing the likelihood of recidivism,” said Boone County Commissioner Janet Thompson.
in2Action Executive Director Dan Hanneken put it plainly: “When people leave incarceration connected to recovery, housing, employment, and peer support, they are far more likely to build stable, productive lives.”