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County approves program for recently jailed, mentally ill homeless

Albuquerque Journal (NM) - 6/25/2014

June 25--Marisa Garrett couldn't have been happier that the Bernalillo County Commission on Tuesday unanimously voted to allocate $1.1 million for a supportive housing program to help mentally ill homeless people just released from jail.

The program will initially provide housing for 75 people caught in the vicious cycle of mental illness, homelessness and incarceration.

Garrett, 34, briefly addressed the commission and explained that she had been one of those people, and if not for Crossroads For Women, a transitional housing program in Albuquerque, "I would have been back in jail," she said.

"I was in and out of MDC (Metropolitan Detention Center) 18 times and locked up at the women's prison in Grants six times, mostly for drug-related offenses," she said. "The real problem was mental health issues, but I looked for ways to numb myself and escape."

Garrett had no family, no job, few skills, and most importantly no place to go. "I was homeless," she said.

Luckily, she learned of Crossroads For Women, and one of its programs, Maya's Place, for women exiting incarceration, and with case management, counseling and medication, her life turned around. She now works as a cook for a catering company and is able to provide a stable home environment for her own two young children.

Her success is what supporters hope will happen with the county's supportive housing program.

Initially, $300,000 will be released with the start of the new fiscal year on July 1, and the remaining funds will come after September. The commission also voted to authorize the county manager to accept federal Bureau of Justice Assistance grant money, as well to seek grants from a wide array of sources

Commissioner Maggie Hart Stebbins said the initiative is not only "humane," but also cost effective, considering that 50 percent or more of the people incarcerated at MDC suffer from mental illnesses, a large percentage of them have concurring homelessness and addiction problems, and many of them re-offend and wind up back in the overpopulated jail.

Consequently, the program is also expected to reduce recidivism and relieve pressure on the jail.

The details of the county's program are still to be worked out, but it includes intensive case management, mental health counseling, life skills education, vocational services, access to public benefits, and family unification assistance.

County Commissioner Wayne Johnson tempered his support by noting that if participants do not avail themselves of the case management and counseling services, the outcomes will not be good and the program turn into a "money pit."

However Jay Crowe, clinical supervisor and director of behavioral health programs for Albuquerque's Health Care for the Homeless, told the commissioners that he has seen how "stable permanent housing with supportive services can break the cycle of homelessness and incarceration."

Also attending the County Commission meeting was Jeremy Reynalds, chief executive officer of Joy Junction, New Mexico's largest homeless shelter. He did not speak at the meeting but told the Journal that he has sent an email to the commissioners indicating Joy Junction would be willing to provide extended housing and case management for 10-15 people just released from jail, and at no cost to the county, providing the individuals were not sex offenders or violent.

Reynalds said he believes the county program could greatly increase its chances of success if New Mexico were to pass some version of "Kendra's Law," a term generically used to describe laws that provide a mechanism for forcing mentally ill people to take prescribed medications and get psychiatric treatment.

"Case management can get people access to badly needed services, but can not mandate the taking of medication," Reynalds said.

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(c)2014 the Albuquerque Journal (Albuquerque, N.M.)

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