More Mental Health facilities need to be built as opposed to jails - what are your thoughs?

It’s a difficult situation and I have no answers. At times I’ve thought that there should be commune-like setting and food, accommodation & clean drugs would be supplied. But in whose backyard?
 

California has become a magnet for mentally ill. Following is an enlightening read:

Hard truths about deinstitutionalization, then and now

https://calmatters.org/commentary/2019/03/hard-truths-about-deinstitutionalization-then-and-now/

Snippets:

Offenders would commit low level crimes and be incarcerated. Jail or prison for many meant stabilization through regular sleep, food, hopefully no alcohol or drugs, and for some, much needed mental health treatment. Then, they’d be released. Back on the streets, they would decompensate, get arrested again and continue to serve life on the installment plan.

The connection between deinstitutionalization and incarceration is all too obvious. In 1978, the prison population was about 25,000, By 2006, it had grown to over 170,000 and 30 percent of the prison population were designated as needing mental health services. As the jails and prisons emptied, homelessness jumped. Unlike the rest of the U.S. where homelessness has been relatively flat, California’s homelessness spiked in 2015. Now, approximately a quarter of all people experiencing homelessness in this country reside in California.

And while there are fewer inmates, the prevalence and severity of the mental illness among prisoners has increased. Astonishingly, in just four years, the number of people in California who were deemed incompetent to stand trial has increased by 60 percent, straining courts and state hospitals. Somehow, we must find a middle ground between incarceration, and untreated, unsupervised and at-risk mentally ill people...

More issues with a legislature unwilling to fix issues, due to special interest groups, they created decades ago:

Real change proves elusive in mental health care system

https://capitolweekly.net/real-change-proves-elusive-in-mental-health-care-legislation/
 
I have always supported Lunatic Asylums against Prison,
especially for repeat offenders, it seems that the stigma
of an asylum is a bigger deterrent to crime than any UK
prison.

The Victorians had the best ideas to control crime, they
had large prisons, but they had more large Mental Asylums.

Because these places were in large park like grounds, with
lovely gardens, previous governments and the NHS, sold
them for large sums of money, I have watched crime steadily
increase, throughout my lifetime.

So I, for one, agree with the suggestion that mental hospitals
should be used cut down crime.

Some classes of people proudly tell you that their son/daughter
is in prison, but nobody in any class will tell you that they are
in a Mental Hospital, especially for committing crimes.

Mike.
 

Irwin said:
Maybe communes are the answer. A lot of homeless people simply can't afford a place to live. They work some menial job, but it's not enough to pay rent on an apartment, so they're forced to sleep in their vehicles. I see campers parked in the Walmart parking lot every time I go there that might have people living in them. There are some people living in an SUV near the park down the road. People like that could benefit from communal living where they could perform some tasks around the commune to pay for their housing and then work their jobs until they can afford an apartment, or they could get a degree or learn marketable skills while living at the commune and have a career or trade.

Then there are the people who have serious mental illness that prevents them from holding down a job. Many of them could still contribute to the commune — perhaps not in a traditional 9 to 5 sense, but in other ways that could have therapeutic value and help them overcome their issues. Surely it would be healthier than living on the streets.
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Agree so much. Since the fires in my area, prices have gone up. I hear the speak (not talking about your post, we have little power) about housing the homeless but little is done. They have put up some really, really tiny places to house homeless but all I see being built are apartments to rent with prices going up and stand alone houses to buy, and of coarse prices really going up. I don't see condos, tiny home communities, mobile parks starting. I feel very bad for working people who can't afford housing and all homeless. And they need safe affordable housing including something to buy. Seems we are not a kind society. I don't know the solution but there has to be a way for the powers that be to start something. I'd help if I could.
 
Mr. Ed said:
My wife is a child therapist at the mental health clinic, there is a tremendous shortage of qualified workers to meet the mental health needs of area residents.
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I've heard this also. Plus not all therapists are good ones or know how to deal with very complex trauma. I worked with a nice man who's wife, in her 50's got her license for family therapy. She was busy, busy, busy from the start and was doing a lot of court ordered family therapy he said. I'm sure he heard some stories.
 
Ladybj said:
There are sooo many people with mental health issues that commit crimes and are put in jail. Several of them need mental health care. They go to prison and come out with the same mentality and commit the same crimes if not worse.
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I could not agree more. Being incarcerator teaches you one thing; how to make it on the outside illegally.
 
Welp, i seem to 'member way back when we had "county homes" for those folks who were suffering...then as time wore on, the county politicos didn't like the $$ they had to pay out, and eventually the lawyers started in getting their dimes, so all most all were closed....and so here we are....... :giggle:
 
hawkdon said:
Welp, i seem to 'member way back when we had "county homes" for those folks who were suffering...then as time wore on, the county politicos didn't like the $$ they had to pay out, and eventually the lawyers started in getting their dimes, so all most all were closed....and so here we are....... :giggle:
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It was the same here.

Years ago we had a county dairy farm, creamery, and home. The residents that were able worked on the farm, grounds, and in the home to offset the cost of care. That wouldn’t fly today, but it was actually a pleasant community that gave people a sense of purpose and self worth.

The farm eventually closed and the land was used to create a community college campus.

The last section, a modern nursing home, was finally sold off a few years ago.
 
David777 said:
California has become a magnet for mentally ill. Following is an enlightening read:

Hard truths about deinstitutionalization, then and now

https://calmatters.org/commentary/2019/03/hard-truths-about-deinstitutionalization-then-and-now/

Snippets:

Offenders would commit low level crimes and be incarcerated. Jail or prison for many meant stabilization through regular sleep, food, hopefully no alcohol or drugs, and for some, much needed mental health treatment. Then, they’d be released. Back on the streets, they would decompensate, get arrested again and continue to serve life on the installment plan.

The connection between deinstitutionalization and incarceration is all too obvious. In 1978, the prison population was about 25,000, By 2006, it had grown to over 170,000 and 30 percent of the prison population were designated as needing mental health services. As the jails and prisons emptied, homelessness jumped. Unlike the rest of the U.S. where homelessness has been relatively flat, California’s homelessness spiked in 2015. Now, approximately a quarter of all people experiencing homelessness in this country reside in California.

And while there are fewer inmates, the prevalence and severity of the mental illness among prisoners has increased. Astonishingly, in just four years, the number of people in California who were deemed incompetent to stand trial has increased by 60 percent, straining courts and state hospitals. Somehow, we must find a middle ground between incarceration, and untreated, unsupervised and at-risk mentally ill people...

More issues with a legislature unwilling to fix issues, due to special interest groups, they created decades ago:

Real change proves elusive in mental health care system

https://capitolweekly.net/real-change-proves-elusive-in-mental-health-care-legislation/
Click to expand...
A lot of people with mental illnesses move to California to take advantage of their programs, which results in a lot of people there with psychological problems. But if you only have superficial information, it looks like California's programs are causing mental illness. The real problem is that there are a lot of people who are f*ckin' nuts and not homeless. They're voters who elect unqualified, inept people to office.
 
Irwin said:
A lot of people with mental illnesses move to California to take advantage of their programs, which results in a lot of people there with psychological problems. But if you only have superficial information, it looks like California's programs are causing mental illness. The real problem is that there are a lot of people who are f*ckin' nuts and not homeless. They're voters who elect unqualified, inept people to office.
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I understand we are not to post about politics but I agree with your last sentence. I could go on but will stop there.
 
I worked with a large population of severe-moderately symptomatic adults in a 38 bed single occupancy apartment building funded by OMH as a peer support specialist. On a good day, residents were mostly content with minor crisis if any, but somedays the work environment was totally opposite of calm and serene.
Medication most of the time was extremely helpful in managing symptoms but on occasion residents have the right to refuse prescribed medication or they may combine illicit drugs with current medications that may or may not cause harm to themselves or other residents.

Many residents don't want to be bothered primarily because their behavior, in some way has isolated them from society; so they no longer try to fit in or contribute in meaningful ways. One of my roles as a peer support specialist was encouraging resident to believe in themselves by getting their GED or college education. If education does not interest you, go to work, make money and be independent.

Patience is the key to success for everyone.
 
Robert59 said:
Had a taxi driver told me he was married to two women that has Bi-polar type one and one of them stabbed him with a pencil seven times.
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Not a psychiatrics professional. Just an adult who had a borderline mother. Some borderlines are misdiagnosed as Bipolar due to the extreme mood swings. My mother could go from zero to raging in a split second over nothing.

Your post is a reminder, that while we should not stigmatize mental illness, we should consider and not forget the victims of people with mental illness.
 
Mr. Ed said:
I worked with a large population of severe-moderately symptomatic adults in a 38 bed single occupancy apartment building funded by OMH as a peer support specialist. On a good day, residents were mostly content with minor crisis if any, but somedays the work environment was totally opposite of calm and serene.
Medication most of the time was extremely helpful in managing symptoms but on occasion residents have the right to refuse prescribed medication or they may combine illicit drugs with current medications that may or may not cause harm to themselves or other residents.

Many residents don't want to be bothered primarily because their behavior, in some way has isolated them from society; so they no longer try to fit in or contribute in meaningful ways. One of my roles as a peer support specialist was encouraging resident to believe in themselves by getting their GED or college education. If education does not interest you, go to work, make money and be independent.

Patience is the key to success for everyone.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, medication is not the answer - one size does not fit all. Some medications have horrible side effects. I do believe some people have suppressed emotions that were never dealt with...but those emotions will come out one way or the other. Medication may suppress those emotions in some way but not for long. This is not the case for all but some.
 
Ladybj said:
Unfortunately, medication is not the answer - one size does not fit all. Some medications have horrible side effects. I do believe some people have suppressed emotions that were never dealt with...but those emotions will come out one way or the other. Medication may suppress those emotions in some way but not for long. This is not the case for all but some.
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Not to overshare, but I went to a therapist when I underwent severe depression 16 years ago. He took me back to my 9 year-old self (described in the "cruel words" thread) and I bawled my eyes out. He told me that I had "buried that 9 year-old boy" years ago and needed to revisit him and reconcile my feelings. It put me in such a better place, and I've never looked back.
 
Remy said:
Not a psychiatrics professional. Just an adult who had a borderline mother. Some borderlines are misdiagnosed as Bipolar due to the extreme mood swings. My mother could go from zero to raging in a split second over nothing.

Your post is a reminder, that while we should not stigmatize mental illness, we should consider and not forget the victims of people with mental illness.
Click to expand...
Yes, my mother was that way. No rage, but she sure could go from happy to sad and confrontational in no time. We always chalked it up to the fact that she was a Gemini, but now I understand there were more significant issues.
 

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