JESSAMINE COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — The Jessamine County Detention Center is celebrating success through the Jubilee Jobs of Lexington Reentry Academy, a program that's making strides across multiple counties by giving inmates the tools they need to successfully reintegrate into their communities. Eleven inmates just completed the second cohort in Jessamine County.
As Jessamine County Jailer Jon Sallee put it, programs like this are made possible through strong community partnerships and a shared belief that second chances create stronger communities.
"I hope it's the future of corrections," Sallee said.
According to Sallee, the approach is holistic in nature.
"We should be doing everything we can to help these individuals re-adapt into the community without wavering back into the way they got here the first time," Sallee said.
Here in Nicholasville, Robert Barbosa, JCDC's reentry coordinator, can relate to the inmates he serves. Locked up 35 times between age 18 and 42, Barbosa worked for Jubilee Jobs for two years before returning to help others.
"If I can do it, they can do it," Barbosa said.
"Now I'm back right where I was pulled out of, to be a light of hope," Barbosa added.
At Jubilee Jobs, CEO Mason King makes it clear that collaboration is key to the program's success.
"If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together," King said.
The numbers from Jubilee Jobs of Lexington's Reentry Academy support that approach. Out of 203 participants from July 2023 through June 2025, 175 have successfully graduated from the program. This success served as the inspiration to expand to Jessamine County, where the academy has 23 graduates.
"It's something that our community needs more of because the whole community benefits when these individuals succeed," King said.
Success comes with a specific mindset, according to Barbosa.
"We're about empowerment not enablement," Barbosa said.
The Jubilee Jobs Second Chance Academy provides comprehensive support offering the following:
- Drug/Alcohol Treatment Support
- Clothing Assistance
- Identification and Birth Certificates
- Bus Passes
- Sober Living Housing
- Resume Building
Barbosa is optimistic about the program's future after conducting six sessions in three weeks.
