cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/38506198
Frank Taylor’s idea for the Stable Recovery program was born six years ago out of a need for help on his family’s 1,100-acre farm that has foaled and raised some of racing’s biggest stars in the heart of Kentucky horse country.
The area is also home to America’s bourbon industry and racing has long been associated with alcohol.
“If a horse won, I drank a lot,” Taylor said. “If a horse lost, I drank a lot.”
The basic framework for the program at Taylor Made Farm came from a restaurant he frequents whose owner operates it as a second-chance employment opportunity for people in recovery. Taylor thought something similar would work on his farm, given the physical labor involved in caring for horses and the peaceful atmosphere.
I keep trying to explain to people that prisoners (or I guess in this case rehabbing addicts) should have to grow and cook their OWN food, make and wash their OWN clothes, clean and maintain their OWN housing, but that any unpaid work they do for the wider society fundamentally incentivizes imprisoning people. Sometimes I get people to understand, but idk that it really sticks long enough for them to be outraged by it.