People are getting themselves arrested to get mental health treatment

http://americablog.com/2014/01/poor-people-intentionally-getting-arrested-get-mental-health-treatment.html

 The title of this post actually refers to two different routes to jail. In one, people who need mental health care and can’t get it, for whatever reason, often wind up in jail. The other scenario is where people realize that they can get psychiatric care in jail and do whatever they can to get arrested.

Let’s look at the first case: someone who needs mental health care, can’t get it and ends up getting arrested.

Depending on the source, statistics show that anywhere from30% to 50% of inmates in the New York City jail systemhave a psychiatric diagnosis.

Some of these people may have previously been treated as outpatients, but with years of decreased mental health budgets, there is less help available for them. Their diagnosis could be depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, substance abuse or any one of a number of others, or even a combination of diagnoses. 

They may be arrested for crimes from misdemeanors to felonies. Some who can’t get their medications may self-medicate with alcohol. Others, homeless and destitute, may be arrested for shoplifting or prostitution. Some for assault or any of a number of other crimes.

When they get incarcerated, they may get no, or minimal, treatment even if their psychiatric problem is readily apparent or documented from a previous arrest. If they present as a “problem” to the jail personnel, they may be sent directly to solitary confinement. 

Some inmates with psychiatric problems may spend literally thousands of days in solitary because of the behaviors they display or threats that they make.

Even for those who may get some form of treatment, medications, therapy or both, the help may only be temporary. Upon release from jail, they may again be homeless, penniless, uninsured and destitute. They may be unable or unwilling to get help or help may not be available and they will return to jail to repeat the process again.

we only hear about the mentally challenged when they are being blamed for mass killings, never anything in budgets that reflect even a thought as to their care,they are one of our fogotten American groups. 

from this article looks like they are more likely to get a grain of help is to get locked up but is that real help as needed determined by professional assessment after being put in the system or is this another warehousing for the sake of bed counts meaning more budget but isn't this the topic repetitive incarceration, because there is no real effort to help just what can be scammed off funds to do what they obviously are denied?

 The Texas Observer points out that in Houston the problem is a little different. Mental health budgets have been cut in Texas, too. And, thanks to conservatives, the ACA Medicaid expansion has been stalled. Outpatient mental health services are hard to get, and harder to keep. Many spend months on a waiting list until a vacancy occurs. Unfortunately, some mentally ill patients can’t wait months without medications or other treatment. Those who couldn’t get treatment often got arrested, just as their NYC counterparts did.

The jails were faced with more and more psychiatric patients who, under other circumstances, wouldn’t be inmates. Sometimes upwards of 2,000 inmates in Houston were mentally ill. The city finally acted to deal with the problem. They instituted a psychiatric treatment area as part of the jail facility. Inmates with a psychiatric diagnosis could be housed here and receive medications and counseling.

This idea was successful. It helped the inmates deal with their mental health issues. But, again, it turned into a stopgap measure. It was effective while the inmates were jailed. But, upon release, they would go onto a waiting list to get outpatient mental health services. That meant, for many of them, they wouldn’t be able to afford their medications and couldn’t get therapy until they got accepted for outpatient services. Again, that might be months of waiting.

just like our babies once they are released or born "see ya wouldn't want to be ya" republican apathetic view of those who need help can't find money to help because the rich has that money tied up.