TAMPA, Fla. — For many, Thanksgiving is a chance to spend quality time with friends and family, but for others, today is just another day on the job.
“Not only do they have to work Thanksgiving, they have to work 12 hours in a detention facility. They’re going to spend their Thanksgiving away from their families,” said Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister about the deputies working at the Falkenburg Road Jail in Tampa.
“These detention deputies work hard every day. What a phenomenal opportunity for me to come in today and just show them on behalf of the entire community here. Thank you for keeping us safe,” said Sheriff Chronister.
To show how grateful he was, Chronister brought the ultimate treat.
“I brought some cookies,” said Sheriff Chronister. “Cookies will put a smile on everyone’s face.”
He also gave out coins as a token of his gratitude.
“I wanted to give you one of my new challenge coins,” Chronister said to deputies. “Thank you for working on Thanksgiving.”
Next, I walked along with Sheriff Chronister to where the inmates were housed. He wanted to pay them a visit to boost their morale.
“Good to see you. How are you guys doing? Good to see you,” Chronister said as he greeted some of the inmates.
“A large majority of these inmates, they simply made a simple mistake. They're suffering from addiction. They’re suffering from mental health. Sometimes, both. And it’s tough for them. It’s tough for our inmates to be away from their families,” explained Chronister.
Many of the inmates housed in the pod we were in are veterans who served their country.
“Even though we’re in jail and we’re going through something, it’s good to see that we got the sheriff coming and looking out for us as veterans because we have been through a lot, and I think that if we get some of these issues addressed, you know, mental health and drug rehab, that we’ll do a lot better and be a lot better productive citizens,” said Charles Valley.
Before the sheriff left, he announced a surprise for the inmates.
“Give you each two 5-minute free phone calls to call your loved ones. So, make sure you call them and make sure your families know what a blessing they are to you on Thanksgiving,” announced Chronister to the inmates as they began to clap and cheer.
“I’m going to definitely call out to my parents and to my sons and my daughters and my grandkids and say ‘hey, how you doing,’” said Valley.
Filled with gratitude, Valley thanked the sheriff for stopping by, and though this Marine Corps veteran is behind bars for the holidays, he’s optimistic about his future.
“Life happens,” said Valley. “I’m still going through a transition to get wherever god wants me to get.”
