|
|
| Letter: Mental illness help needed behind bars |
| By knoxnews.com |
| Published: 07/23/2015 |
|
President Barack Obama's comments while visiting a federal prison were tantamount to the old saying "There but for the grace of God go I." As 1 in 4 will experience mental illness in their lifetime and 50-80 percent of prison inmates are estimated to have mental illness, we should all be concerned about the chances of being imprisoned or our loved ones being incarcerated, usually for minor infractions worsened by the symptoms of mental illness. Without access to adequate treatment, people with mental health diagnoses can become homeless and/or land in jail or prison. The mental health system (I use the word loosely) has been closing down beds and not adequately funding the promised community mental health resources. Since prison is becoming the new mental health facility, corrections officers need training in how to recognize acute symptoms of mental illness and how to de-escalate situations with prisoners so they don't get cuffed, isolated and receive additional prison time for bad behavior. Prison is not a good place to receive treatment. Read More. |
MARKETPLACE search vendors | advanced search
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
|
Comments:
No comments have been posted for this article.
Login to let us know what you think