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Post by Admin on Nov 18, 2015 13:11:04 GMT -4
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Post by DavidWhitfield on Nov 20, 2015 18:28:09 GMT -4
So the age old question is still being asked but never fully answered. As a society and a country that collects taxes from the people for the people. Where should the people's money be spent? We tried and failed in the past to to help treat and give sanctuary to those suffering in the throes of mental illness from federal and state levels. Its sad and unfortunate that as a society we still have not fully opened the door and let the light shine in on mental illness. We have not opened our arms to our family, friends and neighbors suffering. Instead we still turn our backs and hope the problem either goes away is at the very out of sight. But the "crazy" things about the way we are currently dealing with mental illness probably costs us much more in the long run. The mentally ill with always need a place to go and if we shut down all of our institutions that were dedicated to them then it only make sense that they will go to very next place available to them, which is the housing side of our criminal court system. As it is the only other place to go. I will finish with this sad thought. State hospitals as inhumane as they were gave refuge to people in need and they ran at a loss to the state. New prisons are privately owned and run at a profit for private owners with money coming from the state and the federal government. Why is it now ok for the private sector to make money "the people's money" by incarcerating the mentally ill. Just my 2 cents, for what its worth.
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Post by Navjot Minhas on Nov 22, 2015 21:35:23 GMT -4
The article “The Largest Mental Hospital is a Jail,” greatly depicts the lack of incite and importance of preventive care. It was stated that America’s 50 state legislatures cut a total of nearly $4.5 billion in services for the mentally ill. Mental illness should be treated like any other health condition. Losing access to care for mental illness (medication, housing) is only going to cause these patients to spiral out of control in their future. It was mentioned when 6 different clinics closed down, hospitalization and incarceration rates went up. Its clear from broad data that individuals suffering from mental illness are so poorly managed and understood. Individuals with mental illness future entails committing crimes in order survive. At Cook County Jail, one of three inmates has some form of mental illness. It was also mentioned that the crimes these inmates with mental illness were not arrested for were not because of tendency towards aggression but for “crimes of survival”. If mental illness patients are heavily populating our jails based on survival crimes, it does not make sense why there have been false promises and budget cut backs to help mental illness patients. Our government bodies fail to see that primary prevention is so important for individuals with mental illness. If medication and mental illness care facilities continued to stay open, we wouldn’t have so many patients spiraling out of control and ending up in jail.
In addition to it all, the cycle of mental illness and jail time is never ending. Individuals with mental illness receive their medications in jail as needed. In jail, as these individuals’ moods stabilizes and their sanity sets in, they are released. However, once out of jail, these individuals do not receive medicine, and end up right back in jail from committing criminal acts due to the lack of sanity or means of obtaining their medication. It is no surprise mental illness patients purposely commit crimes to to receive continuous medication. Alternatively, patients already in a jail, their symptoms and mental state of mind may worsen, due to being around other patients with similar mental illness. This can exhaberate symptoms and the disorder a mental illness patient may be suffering from. Living with mental illness is no different than living with cancer; it sucks the life out of you. Mental illness should not be overlooked or under looked, but like any other illness, it should be managed.
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Post by Rachel Riley on Nov 24, 2015 12:28:48 GMT -4
Preventative care is a constant battle with our society and nation today. Why not nip the problem in the butt before it is almost to late and costs our nation tax dollars money? You would think this would be a simplistic solution, but not everyone seems to be on the same page. The amount of money we would save in healthcare alone in the long run would be significantly beneficial, not only to the patient, but also to our tax dollars. But change is tough and hard for most to wrap their minds around, so implementing it is a whole other challenge in itself. In the article, I do believe this will make a significant change and create a positive movement in the right direction, not only for our prison systems, but for each individual affected with mental illness. When volunteering in the ER/Trauma center before medical school, most patients were just wanting their medications for the month, because they had no insurance and didn't have a treating doctor. Most were in and out of jail, by choice. Many told me that it is easer to live life in prison, than it is out on the streets.
Planned Parenthood is set up throughout our country for OB/GYN services for people who do not have insurance and a regular OB/GYN doctor. So why not have a place where someone can go free of charge and stay regulated on their medications, without the bourdon of not knowing how they will pay for each visit or prescription. Staying consistent on your psych medication is crucial for a vast majority of the population to even function, and in most cases patients can live a very fulfilling lifestyle if regulated and compliant. Consistency is key to the society with mental illnesses. So implementing systems like they have in the article throughout the nation will be a positive moment in the right direction.
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Post by Christine Sipple on Nov 24, 2015 21:39:52 GMT -4
While I certainly cannot claim to be an expert on criminal justice or why we in the US incarcerate such an unbelievably high percentage of our citizens as compared with other developed countries, I can say that as a tax-paying citizen and health professional, I find it unbelievable that we have come to this place. To have our largest "mental health facilities" be jails is an embarrassment. Beyond that, it borders on human rights violation, in my opinion.
It is similar to our failed war on drugs. We have incarcerated millions of citizens during this "war" of the past few decades, most of whom were guilty of possession, many of whom were not violent offenders, and our drug problem is not gone. It's not even better. We turn a blind eye to the successful social experiments in places like Portugal, where drug possessors are evaluated for addiction and offered rehabilitation. This policy has not increased drug use in that country, but it has decreased the expense of jailing these non-violent drug users, increased health, and led to people actually getting the help they needed to get off of drugs.
Take that and apply it to mental health in this country. Treat these patients as they should be treated - as people who need medical intervention to help cure or control their conditions. They are not boogeymen. They are not all evil, throat-slashing psychos lurking in the shadows waiting to murder our families. If mentally ill patients caught in the "crimes of survival" referenced in the article and the diagnosis is made, then put them into treatment, not jails. Give these people a chance.
I read recently about a program where homeless people are provided with modest housing FIRST, then, once they are settled, the work of getting them off of drugs and alcohol, of restoring them to mental health, and eventually of training them to become independent can begin. Makes sense, doesn't it? Rather than requiring someone on the street with no home, no job, no resources, and perhaps with mental illness/addiction to try to fix those things on their own, let's give them a hand. Let's take the money wasted on letting these patients sit in jail and instead put it towards healing and hope. Towards improving their situations. We would all be better for it.
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Post by Caroline Estiverne on Nov 26, 2015 11:19:46 GMT -4
Mental disorders are common throughout the United States, affecting tens of millions of people each year, and that, overall, only about half of those affected receive treatment. It is very sad and and somewhat painful to see how the mental health system in this country need to be reformed. The people in this country are hard working people and paying so much taxes and get really nothing back from the system. We supposed to be a well developed country and able to care for our citizens. These are real people that have very serious problems. The data should be helping us think through how we want to approach helping them get services that they need to function not to put them in jail and forget about them and their needs. Jail is not a solution for the problem. Mental illness is a huge problem in this country because most of us rather tip toeing around the subject instead of acknowledging that it is a serious epidemic in this country. People should not have to consider the criminal justice system as their only hope. When it comes to healthcare, we still have a long way to go before mental health patients are treated with the respect afforded physical health patients. We have to break the cycle of stigmatization and see them as real human beings. They an integrant part of our communities and deserve a better treatment and consideration.
Individuals living with serious mental illness face an increased risk of having chronic medical conditions. The cost of care is increasing because of lack of prevention. The government is cutting budgets in healthcare to so say trying to balance things. At the end, the deficit is much higher than ever. Mental illness isn’t something to be ignored. With proper treatment people can live a happy and fulfilling life. All they need is a helping hand to guide them to the right path.
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Post by Sameera Faiz on Nov 26, 2015 13:42:06 GMT -4
Prevention of mental disorders requires effective interventions and access to medical care. Unfortunately, many individuals with mental disorders are not able to attain the necessary medical care because of socioeconomic factors. I think only when mental disorders become a public health priority with the promotion of knowledge can we truly see a change. Effective prevention will also require funding mental health care institutions. It is amazing to see that jails have become the last resort in providing care and restitution. The essential core of the argument becomes whether we want to spend money and time in prevention vs. treatment. In the treatment end many lives are put at risk and expensive costs are generated with inappropriate placements of patients in emergency rooms and jails. Another important factor the article brought up is the misconception that violence and mental illness are linked. Many patients with mental illness are misjudged as potentially becoming violent and thus putting them at risk of becoming institutionalized in jails. The solution lies in de-stigmatizing people and creating better public health care policies. The article also highlights the positive changes that are made inside jails. However, the treatment of mental health disorders needs a larger environmental, social and economical change.
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Post by xaisantigo on Nov 26, 2015 14:29:21 GMT -4
The fact that Cook County jail can be considered to be the biggest mental facilities in the US due to the fact that 1 out of 3 inmates have some form of mental illness is extremely concerning. If the majority of the inmates do have some form of mental illness, then how are we supposed to lower crime rates when these individuals aren’t getting the proper and necessary treatment? One would only naturally think they are being set up or even destined to fail. Without regular follow ups, medications, support form mental health clinics and counselors, how do we pretend these patients never fall back into such a system? It was mentioned that many of these patients/inmates, commit these “crimes of survival” often when they are symptomatic, hence if we can get them on the proper medication and timely follow ups, not with 9 months interval, then we could say crime should decrease in Cook County as should the number of incarcerated individuals and therefore less of tax payers money invested in such a failed system, and finally more money into education. It seems that Cook County has the right idea of offering group therapy sessions, offering skills they were never taught or given the opportunity to learn, such as interview and resume skills, how to apply for classes, track down local mental-health service organizations, and take part in a job fair with companies that have a track record of hiring ex-offenders is an excellent idea and other institutions should follow suit.
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Post by Matthew Yee on Nov 26, 2015 16:25:54 GMT -4
It saddens me that the resources available to those who need it most have been dwindling. Mental health patients are often not able to help themselves, and rely on accessible health care to manage their illness. When access or funding to the care that the need is cut by the government, this creates an even bigger problem. Learning that the Cook County Jail in Chicago houses the most mentally ill patients in the United States, is astonishing. I think that we need to put more effort into providing accessible care for mentally ill, in order to prevent them from winding up in jail. I believe that the government needs to be more responsible on how to appropriate adequate funding to care for these patients. I think that if better care were available to the patients who need it the most, then many of them wouldn’t end up incarcerated. It would be money well spent if we could prevent incarceration, rather than spending money on the costs of incarceration.
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Post by dhavalray on Nov 26, 2015 16:45:45 GMT -4
The article describes how a lot of the problems are due to poor funding and closing of community clinics. Many of the inmates want help but cannot access it. The only way for the mentally ill people to receive treatment is to commit crimes. This saddens me. That to me is appalling, but sadly, that’s the way the system works. However, it pleases me that someone is trying to help out those in need and to help out those who want to be helped by educating them and setting them up with opportunities by means of a job. This way they can earn some income and seek help from a primary care doctor who can provide them sufficient care and keep them out of jail where they would end up if they do not get their medication. I am also ecstatic that those learning from the program Dart started, The Mental Health Transition Center, have changed their life and are self willing to help out other inmates and the kids in their community.
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Post by mohiman saffar on Nov 26, 2015 17:44:47 GMT -4
Mental health issue is a huge problem in this country, and till now there hasn’t been a solution to fix it. It’s a shocking to find out that the largest mental hospital in the US is a JAIL. People that get arrested for a crime and have a history of a mental disorder are bring placed in jails without proper care and treatment for their mental issues. More mental hospitals are getting closed and replaced with jails instead. “Until a few years ago, Chicago had 12 mental health clinics. In 2011, Mayor Rahm Emanuel's first budget proposed closing six of them.” It’s costing more tax payer money to open more jails instead of putting it towards funding mental hospitals and hiring psychologists to take care of the mentally ill. Jail is not a place for the mentally ill, they need special attention and care by professionals, not by prison guards and other cell mates that can abuse and bully them.
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Post by reshikamendis on Nov 26, 2015 20:43:28 GMT -4
"United States does not have a national mental-health system, nor has it ever had one. Caring for the severely mentally ill has long been the responsibility of the states, starting with the first asylums and mental-health hospitals established in the mid-19th century".
Now, that sentence in itself, is shameful to the healcare system of the united states in itself as it is. For the biggest psychiatric hospital in the US to be a jail and for patients to be treated in a jail for major problems such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, and anxiety is not acceptable. The denomination of the healthcare system in this country compared to the rest of the world is backwards in many ways. For example in France, the populations taxes go towards a better healthcare focusing on more psychiatric evaluation of the patient. I believe it is imporatant to focus more resources on such matters ultimately bettering and increasing the budget towards those who need the centralised attention.
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Post by msingson on Nov 26, 2015 21:01:19 GMT -4
It is absolutely abhorrent learning that we live in a society that supports a system in which the only way to get psychiatric treatment is to be arrested.
Cutting the funds for proper facilities to treat psychiatric patients doesn't do the individual or the system any good. What legislators don't seem to understand is that by continuing this current system, we as taxpayers are paying 3-4 times more by supporting patients with psychiatric disorders while they are in jail since the mentally ill require medication and extra supervision and care. Although the quality of care that Cook County provides is a good one but the system itself needs work. It is one that is both fiscally irresponsible and morally reprehensible.
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Post by Tyler Putnam on Nov 26, 2015 21:59:42 GMT -4
The article says that roughly 1 in 3 inmates at the Cook County Jail in Chicago has a mental illness, which is proposed to be directly correlated to their offense outside the walls of the jail. Even though it isn't technically a "mental health facility", they have to be prepared with the proper staff to deal with the mental health cases of these inmates. Which bodes the question, how many state prisons and county jails in the United States are like this but aren't equipped to recognize or treat these mental health diseases? The result is a recurrence of admittance of the same inmates, the second they leave and stop taking the proper medication they end up back in jail or prison. In the case of Demetrio and his battle with Bipolar Disorder and PTSD, the state prison he was admitted to wasn't able to offer him a proper appointment at a mental health clinic for the three years he was staying there. For someone like this who wants to honestly get better but can't afford the proper treatment or medication, it's only a matter of time before he's back in jail or prison. Who's to blame? Most likely the prison system and the city for improper funding of appropriate personnel.
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Post by Jessica M Thomas on Nov 27, 2015 11:04:27 GMT -4
This article is interesting as it raises several questions in my mind regarding wrongful imprisonment, police profiling, racial issues, and how each of these entities may be linked to mental illness. Approximately 400,000 inmates, 1/3 of all inmates in the Cook County Jail suffer from some form of mental illness, with illness ranging from ADHD, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or MDD to name a few. While the crimes these inmates have been charged and convicted of are classified as "crimes of survival" such as stealing food or supplies, breaking and entering for shelter, or possession of illegal drugs for self medication purposes, had the judicial system considered that these crimes might be associated with an ongoing mental illness at the time of trial? While it is widely becoming more accepted in racial minority communities that mental illness is a real thing, classically these minorities have refused medical treatment for mental illness. Historically, because of the lack of treatment in these communities these individuals often ended up in prison because their disease states were not under control. Argue what you will about Obamacare, this health care system now offers psychiatric and mental health treatment for those that were not able to be treated under previous systems. It is not until the judicial and legislative systems recognize that mental illness left untreated can result in crimes that many individuals may not have committed had they had the proper medical treatment, and that mental illness can happen to any person despite their ethnic or racial background and socio-economic status, that we will begin to fill our prisons with those that deserve to be in prison and our mental hospitals with those needing psychiatric help.
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