2 October, 2017
BILLERICA, Mass. – Middlesex Sheriff Peter J. Koutoujian recently welcomed Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb to the Middlesex Jail & House of Correction.
Sheriff Lamb visited the facility on Wednesday, September 27 to tour the Housing Unit for Military Veterans (HUMV). Opened in January 2016, HUMV is the only specialized unit for incarcerated military Veterans in Massachusetts.
“We were honored to host Sheriff Lamb and provide him with an overview of our program,” said Sheriff Koutoujian. “At one time in their lives, each of the men in HUMV swore an oath to protect our country. HUMV is our way of trying to help them right the ship and return their lives to the courses they charted long before they found themselves in our custody.”
HUMV is open to both pre-trial and sentenced individuals regardless of whether they served overseas or stateside. Staff works closely with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Massachusetts Department of Veterans’ Services, the Middlesex County Veterans Treatment Court, local nonprofits and agencies focused on providing services for Veterans to offer specialized treatment programming inside the unit, as well as continuity of care for those preparing for release.
“We are thankful for Sheriff Koutoujian’s hospitality and we are very excited about implementing a similar program in Pinal County. Our veterans served our country. They took care of us, protected us, and now it is our responsibility to help them in their time of need by providing them the resources to get on the right path,” said Sheriff Lamb
Nationwide, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) estimated there were 181,500 Veterans incarcerated in state and federal prisons and local jails in 2011-2012.
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Photo Caption: Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb (left) and Middlesex Sheriff Peter J. Koutoujian (right) speak with two participants in the Housing Unit for Military Veterans (HUMV) at the Middlesex Jail & House of Correction on Wednesday, September 27, 2017.
