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Hope for mentally ill inmates Our view: Hope for mentally ill inmates

Winston-Salem Journal - 2/8/2017

Our view

People struggling with mental illness have enough to deal with without going to jail. But too many who suffer from mental illness or problems related to their mental illness wind up there, and too many wind up repeating the experience. A promising program that's being implemented in Forsyth County, as well as throughout the nation, should help.

Jail is not traditionally a good place for the mentally ill to receive the resources they need to recover and return to productive lives. But now women can register for the Stepping Up Process to End Recidivism, or SUPER, the Journal's Jordan Howse reported recently. It's a pilot program that will provide counseling, planning and other support to women who have mental health- or substance use disorders. Its goals are to help women with mental illnesses identify resources to help after they're released and reduce the likelihood of returning to the criminal justice system.

According to Stepping Up, an estimated 2 million adults with serious mental illnesses are jailed each year in the United States. Many have chronic mental illness issues or substance-abuse problems. Many have been previously victimized and have past experiences with hospitalization or rehab.

Forsyth County is one of 25 counties in the state that has passed resolutions to support the initiative, which nationally is led by the National Association of Counties, the Council of State Governments Justice Center and the American Psychiatric Association Foundation. Locally, Commissioner Gloria Whisenhunt and Assistant County Manager Ronda Tatum head the initiative. Amber Humble has been hired to head the program.

The program will begin with a group of under 100 female inmates who have had chronic mental illness linked with substance abuse problems. The group's relatively small size makes it more manageable, Whisenhunt told the Journal.

The participants are all volunteers who want to take charge and improve their situations.

The program has promise. If it works for women, a men's program should be started. Together, these programs would be of benefit to taxpayers, law enforcement and, especially, those who wind up in jail as a result of their illness.