People who are locked up often write letters.
They write to their family, and to their lawyer. They also write to the judge and, sometimes, even to the prosecutor.
They write because they are stuck in jail having to think about their lives. They promise to change.
When I received those letters, I was glad the person was thinking about the choices they made, and about what they needed to do differently. Since many may write “what they think I want to hear,” I would ask questions.
The first would usually be: why is this time different? You’ve made these promises before; you’ve gone to treatment before — so why should I believe that another chance would produce a different result?
Will the children you say you love see a different you? Will your parents or partner, who have waited so long, watch you change or continue to be the same?
I want to see if they realize that a big part of the answer is asking for help. Are they ready to do that? Do other jail inmates tell them to just do the time? Are they afraid to choose treatment because they believe they will fail at it?
There is a lot of support — a whole team of people to help — if they will just open themselves to it. None of it will be easy; and, duh, there is no magic wand. But, by letting others help, you can learn to believe in yourself.
What motivates a long-time user of substances and/or alcohol to do the necessary work? Are there times when a judge can increase the likelihood that a defendant will make the most of an opportunity for treatment?
If the person is charged with a crime, the law can help connect them to treatment and keep them there longer. For someone who is ready and consents to the program, Drug Courts and Mental Health Courts provide a supervised option for treatment, support and monitoring in the community. Success can mean a more favorable disposition of their criminal case.
NY Problem Solving Courts — https://ww2.nycourts.gov/COURTS/problem_solving/index.shtml
What if they have mental health issues, too? A great many people with mental health issues do not commit crimes. Still, the numbers of those with difficulty functioning are large and obvious. As drug use and homelessness have increased around the country, the public literally comes face-to-face with these problems.
Current efforts to address them seem to lean towards forcibly removing people from public spaces and expanding powers to compel “involuntary treatment.” New York City’s Mayor announced a policy to involuntarily hospitalize those on the streets and in the subways who display symptoms of severe mental illness.
This change is controversial, partly because it is seen as stop-gap and short-sighted. They may remove unhoused mentally ill people from sight for a little while, but what next? So far, there are not sufficient services and supports ready when they are released from the short-term hospitalization. This is a decades-long problem.
Across the country, in the 1960’s states released patients from psychiatric institutions — many of which had terrible conditions — but never really funded the promised and needed community mental health services. In most places, such treatment has remained unfunded or underfunded ever since. Without sufficient resources in communities, including supportive housing, how can we expect anything to change?
For years, jails around the country have become holding places for the mentally ill; more warehouses than treatment facilities.
California is making changes to their laws, including expanding when there can be involuntary treatment. In addition, they are creating supportive housing and services for participants in their new CARE Courts, which are designed to keep homeless people who are schizophrenic or psychotic off the streets and out of jail.
These difficult issues are wrestled with by families, lawmakers, courts, advocates and others all the time. How far should the law go in pushing people into doing what may be best for them? What if the law is abused and people are institutionalized when they could be treated effectively in the community? How humane is it to leave people unhoused? There are programs that work, which need support.
____________
RESOURCES/READ MORE
NYC to take mentally ill to involuntary hospitalization — https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/new-york-city-will-involuntarily-hospitalize-mentally-ill-people-new-p-rcna59293
Need for supportive housing and community MH treatment, after involuntary hospital admission — https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2022/12/n-y-plan-to-involuntarily-treat-mentally-ill-homeless-not-entirely-outrageous/
Jails and prisons our largest “mental health facilities” —https://www.npr. /2020/02/25/805469776/americas-mental-health-crisis-hidden-behind-bars
California — https://calmatters.org/health/2023/10/california-mental-health-involuntary-treatment-law/ org/2020/02/25/805469776/americas-mental-health-crisis-hidden-behind-bars
California — https://calmatters.org/health/2023/10/california-mental-health-involuntary-treatment-law/