How to keep some of the mentally ill out of jails

Carol Forsloff - Those who work with mental patients find these days more and more of them end up undiagnosed and in jail.   How can that be prevented?


While states worry about budget shortfalls due to contracts with state workers as well as the need to work on infrastructure, crimes continue to be committed, some by the mentally ill, who are put in prison where many often do not belong.

How can we keep some of the mentally ill out of jails so they get the proper medical treatment which they often do not get in prisons.

Some mental illnesses are diagnosed; but many are not; which is why folks end up in jail and not in treatment centers where they could receive proper medical attention.

In some cases, relatively minor offenses arise as the result of mental illness. An individual may be arrested for trespassing or for being a public nuisance, when the criminal activity is a merely a symptom of a larger problem.   That "move along" order may fall not on deaf ears but a thinking process that does not process properly and therefore does not
understand.

A lawyer,Richard Sly,  tells us, based upon having mentally ill in a caseload,tells us often a criminal act is a cry for help.  Some individuals with mental illness have learned the hard way the only way they will ever receive the medication and treatment they desperately need is to be incarcerated. These same people are much more likely to commit more crimes after they are released, all in the name of seeking help for their illness.

To prevent some of these people from seeking help through desperate means, some education about resources can help.  Furthermore workers involved with the mentally ill also should acquaint themselves with this same information.

That is seeking provision under the SSD system for financial benefits for the underlying illness. It may be possible under the SSD system to receive financial and medical assistance for a recognized and diagnosed mental disorder.

The SSD benefits system was designed help those with mental or physical disabilities who suffer from a mental or physical disability that impairs their daily life functions. Though the ultimate decision on whether or not to award benefits will be made by the Social Security
Administration (SSA), awards are based upon analysis of four factors:-
 Daily living
- Social function
- Concentration

-"Decompensation" (withdrawing from situations where you feel stressed
or exhibiting extreme reactions - like rage - to everyday stressors)

While benefits can literally be a lifeline for some people, getting those benefits takes time, patience and dedication.

Navigating the SSA's benefits system can be difficult without the assistance of a specially trained SSD attorney.   Getting that help can mean an individual is less apt to end up in jail for lack of support.  That help can come from advice to a relative or good friend who can help make sure the mentally ill have the information.  Or in the worst case scenario the information can be used to begin the process of financial support.

It sometimes takes that simple act of kindness, that bit of important information, that will make the difference between an individual ending up in a clean, comfortable place to live vs the inside of a prison.