New forum for Mental Health in the prison system (What little there is)

Quoted from forum intro:

This Forum - Mental Health in the Prison System
I have a real personal interest in this forum and topic in general. I don't consider myself to be mentally ill, though I do have A.D.H.D. which many consider an impediment / learning disability. Regardless, I have played the games with the "mental health services" in the prison system and came out on top due to lots of pull on the outside, but not without many pains / battles along the way. Further, I have witnessed the abuses by (mostly) medical staff these inmates were facing. I can't even begin to express how appalled I have been / AM. In time I will share many of these stories here with you but at this moment I want to get this forum up and running.

I'd like to share with you the entire story that "triggered" my opening this forum and reminded me about a fight I feel most strong about. This young man is doing 99 years for accidentally killing his son. Please read his story.

http://users3.ev1.net/~jdbry1/aaron.html

I would also like to add a LITTLE about Montgomery County, Texas.
I was in this jail under federal contract. It was by far the worst county jail I have ever been in. (I'm no connoisseur but I have been in a number of them) I never thought I would want to be transferred to the Harris County Jail (in Houston, Texas) where gladiator entry was the norm. The criminal justice system in this county rivals the most crooked in Texas, if not the country, and the jailers have it their way with little-to-NO recourse of a grievance system. This link contains full info on that too, if interested.

It’s a DISGRACE that so many mentally ill people are roaming U.S. prisons. We did away with State Asylums only to lock them up inside prisons where they can really be victimized?

Please use this forum to share your stories, discuss strategies, and discuss anything else with regards to this topic.

David

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david-this is one of your best ideas yet!! i feel bad not having suggested it myself considering i work in the department of mental health!! there are a TREMEnDOUS amoutn of issues regarding mental health and corrections--and they will only increase as managed care continues to severely restrict mh services-

sherri

great idea indeed!

David,

Thanks for bringing this to everyone's attention. It saddens me to think of all the mentally unstable people who are behind bars. Like you my son has ADHD and I fought the school system for 12 years trying to get him the education he needed. At 21 years old he still reads at a 4th grade level. No he is not mentally ill, but I can understand how so many of these people end up behind bars because people no not want to deal with their problems and issues. So we disguard them like trash. I wonder if we as a society will ever learn from our mistakes?

:confused:

Caro David,

Heah! Great idea and forum. I agree. It's kind of like we're going backwards in time, for, the mentally ill were routinely and summarily put into jails over 50 years ago to be victimized. Now, as you say, they're again being put in them to fill beds, to have more jails constructed, more federal dollars to local municipalities, etc. Very sad.

I just retired from a position in Mental Health. To say the least, the mental health system both in prisons and out is in dire need. Working at the state level, I saw people leave and come back like a revolving door because the "system" fails them once they are back in the community. Here in Michigan, most of the state mental health facilities have been closed so many of the mentally ill are in prison, with little or no health services.

At the prison level, mental health services are still in the dark ages. Newer medications are not used, no one monitors to make sure the mentally ill acutally TAKE their meds nor is there any kind of therapy.

My husband had a bunky who is mentally ill. He is 10 years past his first out date because he is not on enough or on the right medications and continues to have inappropriate behaviors that could be nonexistant with the right meds.

GEEZ...here I'm getting on the bandwagon. I could go ON and ON and ON.

Mrs. D

There is a huge population of mentally ill in the correctional system. Unfortunately, there are many that "fake" M/I to try and beat thier case and the ones who truly need the attention fall through the cracks. Or are overmedicated.....

Hi Mrs. D.

It is me, Cessie, from Michigan. I tried to get my son to admit ADHD. I have stayed with counsellors since his incarceration. He refuses to look at the mental side of things. His words to me are: "Tell them and then watch the line of people going for their meds, and then sleeping all day". i referenced earlier that I know very little about what it
is like"inside"; my son won't talk. But,about having a mental problme he responsed as above. As I have said, I have written all of our State Representaives - not one as ever responded. I feel that the judges, the attorneys, the state representatives all get too much money to stand up inthis situation. Look some time at the site for Michigan Industries and the money that they make. Look at the monoply they have on the telephone system, the postal system, the vendors that we are forced to deal with. All promote a kick-back to the above. So how can we change things???

the link didn't work for me!