9/22/2022 1 Comment “I work in the prisons. It’s an awful system.” Psychiatrist, Philadelphia- The Criminal Justice System is No Way to Treat Mental Illness!By Regina Robinson
“I work in the prisons. It’s an awful system.” Psychiatrist, Philadelphia Can you imagine how I felt when I heard this? I met my 43-year-old nephew and his father at a behavioral health center in Philadelphia during a crisis. He was there because a prison re-entry program was not working for him, his bipolar condition worsened, and he knew he needed help. The good news was that he signed himself in. The bad news was that he was still on probation and leaving the program put him in violation. Yes, he could stay for three days at the Philadelphia facility, but his expulsion from the reentry program deemed that he would go back to the George W. Hill Correctional Facility (GWH) in Delaware County, which he did voluntarily. Fortunately, he was recently released to a shelter – still under probation – and must demonstrate good behavior or he goes back! (His criminal charges were dropped due to his illness.) I’m hoping that the services in place are sufficient. The last time he was released from prison, he lived a fairly independent life for more than six years in his own apartment. He receives Social Security Disability, and all was fine – until Covid. That’s when he couldn’t go to his appointments, have face-to-face therapy – and he decompensated. (The manic side of bipolar.) He lives in Delaware County, and while there are mental health services available, it is not enough for a certain group of citizens… “The only place he could go was torn down this year and the new facility won’t be ready for at least a year.” – FACT Team Member Finding housing to avoid prison (he needed an address as a condition of his probation) proved extremely difficult. Due to his mental illness, he had run out of family members who could house him. Unfortunately, the waiting list for many facilities is more than 7 months. Even his support team was frustrated with the lack of housing for people who are either on the streets or waiting for release from prison and in need of care. His father is a Marine and I draw on my Leo energy and will when it comes to helping family and friends. However, it took many, many, many hours of research and phone calls to find housing so he could be released from GWH and get targeted treatment. I was exhausted and frustrated by the lack of services. What was worse, was when I thought I found a facility for him, I got passed from person-to-person like a church collection plate. Yes, the websites for many of these organizations paint an idyllic picture of their services, but that is not always the reality. My frustration and the race to get him out of GWH before more damage could be done, was taxing and nearly shredded my nerves. And it wasn’t just me! The staff in these organizations are over worked, understaffed, and limited by scarce resources. Most of them go well beyond their job descriptions to get help for their clients. It’s not the people in the system – it’s the system! The problem is the disconnect between mental health treatment and the criminal justice system! My nephew only becomes involved in corrections when he is having a mental health crisis. He is on probation in Delaware Country and the State of Delaware for non-violent crimes. The charges were dropped, BUT not the probation! That brings us to the problem when mental health treatment is eclipsed by the criminal justice system. People with mental health diagnoses whose crimes have been discharged should not be punished with incarceration. They need treatment! What kind of system puts people deemed innocent of a crime due to a mental illness back in prison? THAT is not a pathway to treatment! THAT makes as much sense as a soup sandwich! The National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI) reports these statistics on mental health and the criminal justice system:
What does the U.S. federal government budget for mental health? Approximately $4.7 billion. Here are some numbers from the Fiscal Year 22 Budget. I’ve highlighted a couple of key items:
What did the U.S. Federal government allocate the Department of Defense (DOD) FY 2023? Here's the number from the DOD: $773 billion!!!! Soup sandwich anyone?! Privatization of Correctional Institutions and Mental Health Facilities Make Accessing Care VERY Difficult The reentry program my nephew was court ordered to attend is owned by GEO Group. (https://www.geogroup.com/) And while he was there to re-learn life skills and move onto more independent living, something went wrong. Although the program included medication, therapy, was clean, and offered a reasonable amount of freedom, it was largely run on a “merit and demerit” system, as one would expect in a prison situation. After nine months there, he felt he was not making progress to the next step of supported housing, felt pressured by a condition of probation to find employment, and in general, did not feel that the program was working for him. (Why should he be required to get a job when he’s on Social Security Disability? This is another indication of the disconnect between corrections and mental health treatment.) Rather than having an alternative to that treatment/probation plan, (The peer counselor at GEO said the program had a 50% success rate. Not good! Sink or swim, I guess.), he was in violation of his probation. The family was informed that the sheriff was called and would take him to GWH for assessment. Naturally, we were distressed that having law enforcement arrest him would exacerbate the situation and possibly end in "suicide by cop." (He threatened suicide to several family members during the ordeal.) Because of suicide threat, GEO called the Crozier Chester Crisis Center, and he was taken there in an ambulance. No one from the GEO facility accompanied him. So, after a short time, he left for the Philadelphia facility, which is where I met the doctor whose assessment of corrections and mental health I noted above. Here are some articles that show how privatization of these vital services can do more harm than good:
Needless to say, something has to be done! Action has to come from the people in power to make budget and policy decisions that impact the mentally ill, their families, and professionals in a positive and compassionate way. Anyone out there having a similar experience? Let’s share and get to our politicians and policy makers to address this issue with some real, sensible, truly helpful solutions! Who’s with me? Regina Robinson is an adult and K-6 educator and the president of RM Robinson Solutions LLC (RMRS). The company provides workplace, elementary, and early childhood education solutions. RMRS is certified by New York State as a Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (WMBE). She holds a master’s degree in Media Ecology from New York University. Regina lives in a historic house in Germantown with her husband, John, and her dog/son, Iggie.
1 Comment
Renee Robinson
2/1/2023 04:21:26 pm
Thank you for sharing all this information. It’s not easy for anyone to have to go through mental illness. What makes it even harder it seems like you have no real help or answers when the system is set up this way. One can only hope and pray for change in a system that would benefit more if they would be willing to accept that they need to find a better solution to helping people with mental health issues. Thank you again for sharing this.
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