How an unlikely duo is helping those in jail find sobriety in Dickson County

Nearly 200 people have moved out of Dickson County’s jail with a plan in hand for addiction treatment or sober living.

That’s part of the track record of Freeman Recovery Center, which began working on addiction recovery inside Dickson’s jail just over a year ago.

The founder of the program is Shawn Baker, who says the program was 20 years in the making – dating back to his time addicted and in that same jail. He found a partner in Dickson County Sheriff Tim Eads, who was the warden during the time Baker sat behind bars. 

The two sat down to discuss the path it took to get there. 

BAKER: I had always wanted a better life.  I mean, I was lonely and wanted more out of life since my earliest memories. I just needed the right people to believe in me and a platform to be able to accomplish it. 

EADS: I have a lot of respect for what Shawn’s done. He’s worked hard. He’s earned his life back.

BAKER: You know, I come from a long line of drug addicts and alcoholics and people that suffer from severe mental health, and you know, it just followed me. 

EADS: That is the moral and right thing to do — is to help people get their lives back together, and when that happens, they don’t come back here. If you’re successful in recovery, you just do not come back to jail, and that is the whole goal, you know? At the end of the day, seeing somebody’s life restored is a good feeling. 

BAKER: What Tim Eads did changed my life. Let me just put it to you: it gave me life. So naturally, if you receive something like that, you’re going to be thankful for it. You’re going to want to go on to share it with somebody else. 

BAKER: This program, I mean, we’re just scratching the surface but I have literally been thinking about a medical model being integrated into the jail for 20 years. So, yeah, I’m excited about it. 

EADS: You feel good if you know that you’re running something that’s helping people that will end up dying in jail, broken families. You know, it’s not just about them being in jail. It impacts their entire family, and the vast majority of people in jail have families.

BAKER: I think that’s what everybody needs in life is somebody to believe in them and take a chance on them so that they can move forward. And so, I’m thankful and grateful for that, and I received that. I want to be able to contribute, and so here we are.