What do you all know about the jails and mental illness? Are you aware that we have more people with mental illness in the jails than we do in hospitals? 

Mabel, unfortunately I think your husband is correct saying no one believes in rehabilitation anymore.  Until it's one of their own.  The rehab programs were so poor as to be non existent.

I am not even in school to be a nurse yet, but at 27 have finally decided tha's what I want to do. Tis site is helping me decide wich direction to go when I'm done. But, my mother has her masters in gerentology and a few of my cousins are RN's or LPN's. My 2 great aunts were nurses in the war, but their memories are'nt like they used to be. I remember when my mom finished RN school. She got her 1st job at a nursing facility and quickly moved up into DON then regional at some point. When I was 14 &1/2 she somehow got me a job in the kitchen. I really liked the resident and most of the people , but not all the cna's were nice to them. But since she had moved around a bit in the commuiny over the years, I would get tired of it and work doing something else. But if I ever got layed off or moved and wanted something closer, I also was known in the wait staff to help get things back on track. I had to live up to her name & not embarras her.

Well Just a while ago she decided she wanted to get more hospital expirience, since my step-dad died. I guess It pays more. Alls she could find was a mental facility as DON. With 3 secions. The elderly, where she spent most of her time, the adult, & the children's unit. she would sometimes tell me sories in confidence. but she could barely read and would avoid if possible the kid's unit. It was to sad for her. My This was a facility where family could call and make arrangements for inpatient care if they wanted, I got the impression that, that happend a lot. But She told me that it was very frustrating, b/c if the police picked up somone they saw fit to be in a mantal hospital; they would just take them there.

Then the people with the reservations lost thier spot. That was the end of it. She is now working with some of her good work friends selling Hospice care.

My real dad is a retired 10+ yr police man. He said that if you get picked up by the cops, and they are closer to the county jail that's were all the real crazy people go. Weather your crazy or not. Of coarse he could have just told me that when I was younger to scare me , so that I would stay away from trouble, he was pretty good at that.

I volunteer as a lay chaplain at the Justice Center=jail.  I have seen many inmates with mental health concerns.  Many with alcohol and or drug problems as well.  I was recently surprised when an inmate told me that she could not be considered for a rehab program she wanted to get into because she was on psych meds.  She told me that she was now off all her meds and hoped to get in the program.

I am sure that there are some conditions where people should not come off their med s and can function and live a normal life IF they take their meds.  

I am not there as a nurse so I do not have any access to records or medical information.  I just meet with the inmates one on one and listen to whatever they want to talk about.  I give them inspirational material and pray with them.

I do not meet with anyone unless they have requested to see a chaplain. 

It is truly a different culture inside.  Things that we take for granted every day are privileges in jail/

Many of the inmates really need help.  They can easily be caught up in a cycle and become frequest inmates because change is difficult especially with not having any help.

I wish there were more programs to help.

dean123: It is very sad but there are many drug rehab programs that will not allow  any psych meds. Not even an antidepressant. there are some very fundamentalist groups  running some of these programs whose belief system is that Jesus heals all. This can be very harmful for a psych patient or a depressed patient who needs meds.  

I would think that the setting alone too would bring depression and anger issues among other things...So I would bet there are more mentally ill inmates than patients...

For those who should have been sent to a psych hospital instead of being sent to jail..I feel for them...there is no such thing as empathy in a prison system.

There are probably more drug addicts and alcoholics in our prisons more so than hardened heinous crime violators also...

Its truly a shame.....and sad....