By Shari Benyousky
Guest Columnist

Column Note: This is the 49th column in the Diners and Dives series in which a small group of Warsaw Breakfast Optimist Club members and their guests road trip to explore the restaurants of Kosciusko and the surrounding area.

WARSAW — In the heart of downtown Warsaw, two worlds converged for lunch: legal proceedings and sizzling spices. On a windy Friday, our wildcard guests, who represent the Sheriff’s Department Community Recovery Program, joined us in the sun-kissed yellow space at La Troje at 115 S Buffalo Street in Warsaw.

Our waitress Yoanna brought generous baskets of chips and bowls of salsa, and our waiter Daniel settled menus and drinks faster than our wildcard guests could introduce themselves.

La Troje offers great daily lunch specials, but I’m partial to a spectacular item from their regular Appetizer list — the Chicken Tortilla Soup which comes with a bowl of Pico de Gallo, another bowl of avocado, and fresh limes for a mere $5.49. The soup is full of tender chicken and topped with crunchy tortilla strips. The table also enthusiastically ordered fajitas, burritos, refried beans, and all the other jalapeno, cilantro, and cumin flavors that you expect.

The Wildcard Flavor Of The Day

Much like the fusion of flavor on a cantina menu, our guests are the diverse ingredients in a Kosciusko Leadership Academy project adding zest to our community’s progress. 1st Source Banker Paul Finley, Bowen Center Director Mike Murphy, and Chief Deputy Chris McKeand are working together on a project.

“First off.” REMAX Jeff Owens, a Diners and Dives regular snagged a chip. “What is KLA and why are you guys in it.”

Chris, Mike, and Paul had made a quick change from business attire and sheriff’s browns into a stack of Diners and Dives shirts. Chief Deputy McKeand explained. “Mike and I had already been working with what has been deemed the Kosciusko County Recovery Program.” McKeand scooped refried beans. “But Paul approached us about joining KLA too.”

KLA trains future leaders by giving individuals and teams the ability to talk with front-line community leaders in government, education, business, nonprofit, agriculture, and healthcare.

Finley arranged his steak fajitas on a tortilla. “In KLA our team’s goal is to find a way to market this new sheriff’s department program, CRP or Community Recovery Program to you.”

Burritos and Reintegration

Picture unwrapping a delicious La Troje burrito and finding the layers of beans, rice and meat. People stepping out of jail also must unpeel layers, only their layers are what it means to go from being confined to stepping back into a world of challenges and choices. As in many communities in Indiana, those people don’t have a lot of support which leads to many of them returning to their previous lifestyles and failing again.

“This program will offer mental health recovery services, housing assistance, whatever is needed.” McKeand took his burrito special from the waiter with a nod. “Our current jail was intended to hold a prisoner for one year. It’s purely a holding facility without outside recreation or work opportunities or services.”

The Spicy Surcharge

“Overcrowding in down-state prisons is causing us to keep our inmates longer,” McKeand added. The Kosciusko Jail often struggles with crowding too. It contains a maximum of 304 beds and often gets close to capacity. If that trend continues, citizens of Kosciusko County will have to increase their taxes to pay for a larger jail that could cost upwards of $120 million.

“We would like to put off building a jail and raising taxes,” McKeand spooned up more refried beans. But there are the issues of recidivism. “I tell those people who re-offend to come back and have some jail beans on me,” McKeand laughed ruefully.

Bowen Center Director Mike Murphy gestured. “But if we want different results, we have to DO something different.” This CRP program intends to include productive differences. First, there would be a navigator in the jail offering inmates assistance. Will they have housing? Mental Health support systems? An ID so they can get a job?

“So, the navigator plants the seeds early for a successful jail exit?” REMAX Jeff asked.

“So, a navigator is like a guidance counselor in school?” Titus Funeral Planner Regular Brittany Lyon rephrased.

In the CRP program, the navigator’s goal is to provide the inmate about to be released with the resources they need to be successful as a citizen again.

The Chili Challenge

McKeand balled up his napkin. He has been with the sheriff’s department a long time. “When I first started.” He tapped his fingers. “The challenge was mostly alcohol. Many young people snapped out of their mischief period with drinking and straightened up. Now we’ve got all kinds of harder things like fentanyl and heroin that can make an addict with just one use.” An addict needs different support services and can often fail multiple times before finally succeeding.

“Another important part of the CRP program is a peer recovery coach,” Paul Finley gestured with his fork. “This person helps inmates once they are out in the community. The coaches have been inmates themselves and know what it’s like to be an addict. An addict coming out of jail can’t lie to a coach because they know.”

Peer recovery coaches will go through training such as those offered by Eric Lane of Fellowship Missions.
“What is the best case for the CRP program?” I asked.

“HOPE,” Bowen Mike Murphy underlined the word in the air. “This CRP program offers HOPE. As a community, we need to offer support systems. When I or my staff see kids get their dad or mom back. When I see those clients out in the community succeeding, we have hope.”

Bowen Center will be integral to the CRP program’s success as they offer many of those CRP support services and help to reunify parents with their children.

What’s Success For CRP?

“Other communities that have this program have reported a 10-20% decrease in their jail population.” McKeand folded his arms. “I would be elated with even the low end of that.”

“If we have 300 people in jail, CRP could impact 30 people!” Paul calculated. “That’s 30 people getting into employment faster in our community. We need that.”

“Anyone can enter recovery given the right support,” Bowen Director Mike interjected. “Anyone.”

That isn’t to say that everyone in jail is right for the CRP program. As REMAX Jeff added, “Some people just want to see the world burn.” The CRP program isn’t intended to allow those people to re-enter society.

“We want to help those people who want the help,” McKeand grinned.

We sat back feeling contented and stuffed. The lunch specials were tasty and the portions large. If you want some Mexican tastes with great service and large portions, you know where to head.

Tip: T-Shirts Available

Diners and Dives T-shirts are available for a limited time by stopping by The Papers Office at 114 W. Market St., in Warsaw. They are only $10, and proceeds will benefit the Warsaw Breakfast Optimist Club Foundation Scholarship Fund. You can send pictures of yourselves wearing the shirts to the new InkFreeNews Diners and Dives Facebook tab for posting.

Do you know of an interesting place, restaurant, nonprofit, or person that you’d like to see featured in Diners and Dives, Whirlwind Wanderlust Travels, or Profiles Behind the Scenes? Send SB Communications LLC Shari Benyousky an email at [email protected].