Jackson Free Press

The Clarion-Ledger has an important story today about how mentally ill people who have not been charged with crimes are being held in the Hinds County Detention Center in Raymond. (I'd tell you who wrote it, but there's no byline on the story as of this posting. Sorry.)

As of June 22, Mississippi had 22 mentally ill people in county jails waiting for a bed at a mental health facility, said Roger McMurtry, chief of the mental health bureau. The number fluctuates daily. Another 52 people wait either at home or in a hospital.

Many have not committed a crime. Their families simply have nowhere else to turn to keep themselves and their loved ones safe.

Previous Comments

ID

106711

Comment

Bump. This is yet another "inconvenient truth" we all need to face.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-07-06T11:18:57-06:00

ID

106712

Comment

Donna, you were waiting for me to say something, weren't you? :-) This problem is far from new. It has been going on for YEARS, but the spotlight has just been shown on it by the media recently. I often make the comparison of this ridiculous practice to putting a heart or cancer patient in jail because the hospital does not enough beds for him/her. Sounds stupid, doesn't it?

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2006-07-06T11:49:45-06:00

ID

106713

Comment

Well, I see precious few options. Its horrible, but until recently there just haven't been places to house them. That's why those new crisis centers were so important. Most of those guys are violently mentally ill and have to be in a place that protects them. I would rather see the county pay private hospitals for interim placement, but that would never fly. For many reasons. There aren't a lot of solutions to this problem. Except to increase money to DMH to help deal with the lack of beds in the state. Its a very difficult thing. And they have the same problem in the juvenile detention facility. So many of those kids are mentally ill. One of the good things Henley Young does is to require a mental health assessment within 48 hours of a kid's bokking. If the kid is diagnosable, they must get him/her to an appropriate mental health facility. They are getting a "little" better at this.

Author

Lori G

Date

2006-07-06T13:24:39-06:00

ID

106714

Comment

i have been very impressed with Public Radio's series of shorts presenting a variety of mentally ill people talking with a family member or being interviewed. We have a long way to go before we can even share a balance of power with the physically disabled in our everyday world, but on the horizon and today it is important to embrace the mentally handicapped as another person deserving of rights and opportunity for passing fancy and amusement in an everyday world. No doubt we are all different and have different needs...but it seems the system is such that the mentally ill can end up in restrictive care simply because there is no time or resource to provide for them an opportunity to realize the scope of their ability for self-direction. Just as children need more respect in what they offer to our reality, so do the mentally ill. no doubt it goes without saying that i am thankful we have incarceration for anyone doing harm to those around them...of course those need alot of work too.

Author

daniel johnson

Date

2006-07-08T02:20:13-06:00

ID

106715

Comment

'fraid you're right, Ali, $$$ is just what it's gonna take. Now if we can raise corporate taxes on corporations employing more than 2,000 people who have a branch office here.... AND...significantly raise state income taxes on any household earning more than $200K - a moderate raise on those with hh incomes in the 150-200 range...and a small raise on HH incomes in the 100K-150K range. Mississippi already has one of the most underfunded social service programs in the nation! No doubt that patronage is likely rife within the mental health bureaucracy, and needs to be dealt with (more stringent hiring based on expertise and talent would be a start). Even so, it's obvious that Miss will have to raise income taxes at some point - or see public services gutted even further.

Author

Philip

Date

2006-07-08T09:17:45-06:00

ID

106716

Comment

Philip-working in MS social services has become more of a decision between the "lesser of two evils" because of all the cuts. I do agree with that. Its fairly ridiculous that we are one of the poorest states and actually hold back parts of our federal funding for social services because we want to look like "good little republicans" who don't spend all our money. Essentially, that's why I got out of the field for a bit. When the jail or the streets are the only two options for a kid who is mentally ill...the world starts to become a very dark place. And anybody who doesn't think we are in that bad of a space in regard to social services and youth services in this state has no idea of the reality of the situation.

Author

Lori G

Date

2006-07-08T11:14:13-06:00

ID

106717

Comment

Ali, how much do we do to try and make it possible for those living with a mental illness to be a contributing member of society as opposed to regulating them to the sidelines. Are we very much dependent on meds and are their other healing methods/exercises being used? i know it is a case by case basis, but in general, what is the suggested game plan coming down from the top of the hierarchy? i guess i'm always coming from a perspective that accepts there is no money until people alter the common consumer lifestyle (even the poor)...now what? What can we do without money in society to fix our problems and should we alter the gameplan with the money we are spending.

Author

daniel johnson

Date

2006-07-08T17:51:46-06:00