Jelly Roll Returns to Virginia Prison After Surprise Visit: ‘You Feel the Change’

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. — Country music star Jason DeFord, known as Jelly Roll, made a stop at the Chesterfield County Jail on Wednesday, hoping to catch up with inmates. We help drug addicts gradually recover(HARP) while on tour.

A program that specializes in treating inmates struggling with addiction through a variety of treatment modalities such as tapping and others trauma-informed methodsfocuses on sharing personal stories through music, art and poetry.

“We did a lot of therapy and then we really got to the root of the addiction,” one participant named Gus told CBS 6. “It’s much more than just drug use. It’s just something we use to numb our feelings and something we keep to ourselves.”

The program is led by Sheriff Carl Leonard and specialist Kerry Rhodes, who lost her own son to an overdose.

Struggling with addiction, as well as the feeling of losing someone to an overdose, is something the Grammy-nominated Nashville artist knows all too well.

DeFord says he spent much of his youth behind bars battling addiction.

WATCH: Jelly Roll surprises inmates at Virginia prison after viral TikTok request

Jelly Roll surprises Virginia prison inmates after viral TikTok request

He attended the HARP program last year, the same year he won New Artist of the Year at the Country Music Awards after seeing the band go viral on TikTok for tapping, a trauma-informed therapy that helps regulate the nervous system and can be used to combat anxiety and stress.

“I don’t say this lightly. I go to prisons every day, three to five days a week, all over America, every time I tour. It is one of the two most elite programs and one of the most forward-thinking programs. “The most offensive sheriffs I’ve ever met,” DeFord said. “You feel the change there. You feel the love. It’s dark in the prison. It’s a very dark place and I’ve never seen a prison room lit up more than the HARP program both times I’ve been here.”

During the visit, HARP members sang some Jelly Roll songs with him and performed their own renditions.
Several participants said his music about addiction, sobriety and loss, and the range of emotions that comes with it, resonated with them.

“It’s very rare to find an artist of his caliber that can speak the way you could speak or be heard at that level,” said member Ejay, citing his recently released album “Beautifully Broken.”

WATCH: Virginia Prisoners Study Trauma Treatments: ‘A Strong Glimmer of Hope’

Virginia prisoners study trauma treatments: ‘A strong glimmer of hope’

The HARP program has gained national attention over the past year thanks to TikTok. Earlier this year, Senator Warner stopped by the prison to learn more about why the program is considered to be extremely successful, with many participants becoming peer recovery specialists, mentors, and then returning after leaving prison to provide assistance or mentoring.

“You should be proud,” DeFord said. “People are getting sober, people are changing their lives, people are becoming parents again.”

Earlier this year, DeFord spoke on Capitol Hill asking for more legislative action against fentanyl.
About 150 people die every day from an overdose of synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

VTVR

Moments spent with those who are now recovering and who care about his experience, DeFord said, make him emotional.

“I almost cried watching everyone sing back to you. This is a little different because these are the ones I think about when I write most often. Not necessarily prisoners, but simply broken people. broken people here trying to pick up the pieces,” DeFord said.

CBS 6 is committed to sharing the community’s views on this important topic. Send your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom..

: CONTACT US

Facebook|Instagram|X|Topics|TikTok