The Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office launched a new program Tuesday to give individuals held in its detention center the opportunity to make music.
Adriel Hines, 50, is one of the inmates who tested out a new recording studio with speakers, microphones and an Avicii mural at the detention center in uptown. As part of the jail's rehabilitation efforts for inmates, the studio is part of a new program called “Rhythm and Reflection: A Journey to Reformation,” which has been launched to provide inmates with an outlet, address their mental health challenges and showcase their creative sides.
Hines has been at the jail for about a year. He says the studio is an opportunity to reflect and learn.
"Learning who we are, learning how to change the mindset that got us in these predicaments, music is about everything positive,” Hines said. "A lot of us come from, you know, dysfunctional homes, drugs, poverty, different struggles that we can overcome and show them how we can overcome through our music, show them how to be more productive.”
Funding comes in part from the Tim Bergling Foundation, created by the Swedish family of the renowned music artist known as Avicii, who died by suicide in 2018.
Mecklenburg County Detention Center, can hold over 1,500 people. All of them who are in good standing — meaning no fights, waking up on time, not exhibiting threatening behavior, and following the rules — can apply to use the studio.
Dorian Johnson, the detention center's program director, says the goal is to address personal challenges so that inmates do not reoffend once released.
“It is an opportunity for our residents to positively express themselves, get some of their thoughts out of their minds. And this is, above all, about public safety," Johnson said. "Our belief is that if you rehabilitate a person, help them understand what brought them into conflict with the law, that we will increase public safety ... this is about ensuring or minimizing the chance of anyone else being a victim.”
