Images of hardened criminals in jail for drug related offenses conjure up immediate mental snapshots, and morning mantras in yoga class just aren’t in the picture. However, Ed Mann, a clinical supervisor at UMDNJ’s University Behavioral HealthCare (UBHC), believes in changing images. Working at the new Adult Substance Abuse Program (ASAP) at Middlesex County Adult Correctional Center, Mann’s first task on the daily agenda for more than 30 prisoners is a yoga class. He explains, "I saw yoga in a mental health context, as a way to prepare yourself, to focus, and to help start the day off right." Working with UBHC counselors Roya Alaie and Harry Henry, Mann also put group therapy, education, counseling, Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) as well as Narcotics Anonymous (NA) meetings, evening meditations and recovery journals on the to-do list for inmates.

Mann’s unconventional 90 day in-prison program, designed specifically for substance abuse offenders, began last October because Superior Court Judge Barnett Hoffmann was frustrated. Eighty percent of the 800 inmates serving time in his prison system were there for drug-related offenses. Yet, in the county jail, which spends up to $35,000 a year to incarcerate an individual, Mann says, "The regular prison population watches TV, plays cards and wastes time, never really getting treatment. As a result, we see a lot of recidivism." When Hoffmann asked Mann what could be done, he says, "I knew just what was needed."

Housed in a separate unit, or "pod," participants can’t be murderers, rapists, or have a history of violent behavior and must agree to live by strict rules. Breaking a rule results in expulsion from ASAP immediately, explains Mann. "Zero-tolerance keeps the protective environment pleasant. It’s a place where people feel safe from threats or confrontations. If they have an issue with someone, they can’t argue and must take disagreements to group meetings." Not even cursing is allowed.

Ranging in age from their 20s up to the 50s, the men share stories about everything from multigenerational drug and alcohol habits to incest. "I thought it would be a far bigger challenge getting them to talk ," Mann explains. "This is only the begining of the rest of their lives," so treatment must continue once they are outside in the real world. Some are headed to halfway houses, longterm "Straight and Narrow" groups or into other intensive outpatient programs.

On January 15th, when 15 men graduated in the first ASAP class, Ed Mann may have been the proudest person in the crowd of well-wishers.