(Dec. 17, 2015) During the holiday season we usually think of good food, shopping and spending time with loved ones. However, it is important to remember that for the marginalized and for those on the fringes of society, the holiday season can contribute to worsening mental health conditions.
The “holiday blues” are even more dreadful for mentally ill inmates. Men and women who suffer from chronic/persistent mental illness and who are incarcerated this holiday season will miss spending time with their families. Not being present at home and enjoying the holiday season with loved ones takes a toll. These defendants face a drastic reality check when they realize they are serving time in jail – a distinctly different place in comparison to the happy families celebrating the holidays at home as seen on TV. The mentally ill are alienated and separated from society while incarcerated. Mentally ill prisoners stay longer than other prisoners so they cost states significantly more.
In Washington State prisons in 2009, the most seriously mentally ill prisoners cost $101,653 each, compared with approximately $30,000 per year for other prisoners. Often, individuals suffering from mental illness are not meant to stay behind bars for an indefinite period of time – they are held in jails to wait for a bed at the state hospital. More than 80 percent of the patients at Napa State Hospital have been referred by the criminal justice system.
Mentally ill offenders in America need help – and the Comprehensive Justice and Mental Health Act of 2015 seeks to address the problem. This piece of legislation is currently on calendar to be heard on the Senate floor. This federal bill, if passed, would reauthorize grant funding set aside in the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reductions Act (MIOTCRA) from 2015 through 2019 at a budget of $40 million total for mental health courts and diversion programs.
The bill also has a provision to fund specialized peace officer training concentrated on responding to the mentally ill in crisis, and ensuring the safety of both the mentally ill individual and the safety of the community. Research shows that these factors would reduce recidivism rates of mentally ill offenders within the criminal justice system. Mentally ill offenders who participated in mental health court felt that they were viewed as individuals with differing life circumstances compared with nonparticipants. Mental health courts also place emphasis on recovery and the chance for offenders to “start over.”
The bill lacks specific implementation efforts toward the creation of more community-based services to address the growing mentally ill population. Services such as residential treatment, and inpatient and assisted outpatient services would alleviate the high demand for treatment in both our jails and state psychiatric hospitals.
In spite of this, the Comprehensive Justice and Mental Health Act is a step forward in the right direction. Those with mental illness in the U.S. are stigmatized, and ill-equipped corrections facilities are taking the brunt of the responsibility of taking in more people suffering from mental illness who would benefit far more from treatment than incarceration. We should take pause at the lack of mental health resources available for those incarcerated and note that not only is the lack of treatment options costly, but also find the high number of mentally ill incarcerated alarming and disturbing.
HANNAH C. MAC DULA
AMERICAN CANYON, CALIFORNIA
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