Community Leaders Seek Alternative To Jail For Those With Mental Health Issues

Nov. 08--A group of area residents concerned about the best way to serve those with mental illness are considering the creation of a mental health stabilization center.

The group, called together by Sebastian County Sheriff Bill Hollenbeck, wants to provide authorities including law enforcement officers, with an alternative to arresting mentally ill people and placing them in jails that are already crowded and lack the tools and the training to address mental illness.

Hollenbeck believes Arkansas, ranked 45th in the nation in mental health services, is in need of change. Nearly 20 percent of adults in the United States, or 44 million people, experience mental illness each year, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). About 10 million adults yearly experience a serious mental illness that interferes with or limits life activities.

In any jail in the nation, it's estimated that more than 20 percent of inmates incarcerated have mental health conditions, and 70 percent of youths in the juvenile justice systems have at least one mental health condition, according to NAMI. Only 41 percent of adults in the U.S. who have a mental health condition received mental health services in the past year.

A regional mental health stabilization center would benefit those in need -- and underserved -- in the community, Hollenbeck said.

Authorities encounter people with a wide variety of mental illnesses daily, Hollenbeck said. Creating an area stabilization center will provide a better alternative to incarceration. Treating mental illness will save taxpayers money in the long run by keeping mentally ill people out of the state's overtaxed prison system.

Recently, local sheriffs and members of the community mental health coalition went to the San Antonio Restoration Center, a mental health stabilization center.

"What it is is a location for law enforcement officers, instead of arresting somebody for a non-violent misdemeanor offense, if they're truly in some sort of mental health crisis, then it's a place where we can take them, rather than jail," Hollenbeck said. "It's a great way to divert people from jail. Right now, officers and deputies, sometimes the only option for they actually have is to make an arrest, and so in essence, we're criminalizing mental health issues."

Hollenbeck doesn't think jail is the right place for everyone with mental issues whom law enforcement officers encounter.

"Say someone has a family member who is in mental distress, law enforcement is called, they escort that person off of the property, and then that person starts to become scared, agitated, a fight could ensue," Hollenbeck said. "Then that person who is in mental crisis goes from a misdemeanor charge to possibly a felony charge, and they go to jail. Is a cell a truly therapeutic place?"

The stabilization center "would give them (law enforcement officers) the skills to be able to recognize the mental health issues, de-escalate the situation rather than coming into the situation and inadvertently making matters worse because of old tactics or old training that we had," Hollenbeck said.

An important issue is taxpayer money. Hollenbeck said incarcerating those facing a mental crisis is not a smart use of taxpayer money.

"We need to divert them from jail and get them back on track because two weeks of stabilization is so much cheaper than 10 years in prison," he said.

Hollenbeck continued to stress that incarcerating people who have mental issues isn't the answer.

"This is a conservative approach in making sure that we use our tax payer's money to incarcerate the real bad guys, rather than throwing people in jail who might be able to help on the front end. And then they get back into society -- they have jobs, they have families, pay taxes, support their community and volunteer, but all this can't happen if they're sitting in jail because we arrested them for some sort of crime."

In all, addressing the needs of an individual who has mental health issues is the answer, Hollenbeck said.

A stabilization center will "complement the governor's plan on dealing with prison overcrowding. While he is dealing with it after they're incarcerated, ... let's deal with it before they're incarcerated. Let's identify these individuals, and let's get them the right help they need, rather than jail. I can guarantee sheriffs would not mind transporting someone for an hour to get them out of their jails, and get them proper help, rather than having them in jail and get worse," Hollenbeck said.

The stabilization center would not cost tax payers additional money, Hollenbeck said.

"We're not asking for additional funding or taxes or anything, but we are asking that state of Arkansas to divert existing funds that are already allocated for mental health, and divert it to programs such as this," Hollenbeck said. "We're talking about a building that would have about 15 beds available that would be staffed by mental health care professionals that would be able to help people get back on track."

The coalition of community members that met last week reacted positively to the idea of a stabilization center.

"I think we're building momentum," Hollenbeck said. "I've testified before a sub-committee regarding mental health needs. The Sheriff's Association is extremely involved in this dialogue, as well as the Arkansas Association of Counties ... Our prosecutor was present during this meeting, we had local legislators who were present during this meeting, a couple CEOs from area mental health centers, Mercy Hospital, so we're gaining community support for something like this, absolutely. It's a start, but there's a long way to go."

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