County law enforcement and mental health officials say multi-pronged action is needed to keep the mentally ill out of jail in favor of medical treatment and stable living conditions.
By default, they underscore, society has allowed jails to become unsuitable mental health service providers.
What sufferers desperately need are urgent care centers, intensive case management services and crisis sanctuaries for those with mental illness who need a brief respite.
Ideally, too, Humboldt County should have a mental health court, a veterans court and adequate mental health community housing, which “plays a huge role in [crime] prevention.”
Properly trained police can provide the first step in recovery, county authorities add. Law enforcement should be bolstered with the “dual deployment” of a safety officer and a mental health professional when an incident occurs. Together, they can defuse potentially violent behavior while at the same time conducting an immediate medical evaluation.
[For more of this story, written by Paul Mann, go to http://madriverunion.com/jail-...-the-mentally-ill-3/]
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