Throughout the history of the United States, prisons have contained the site of improper mistreatment among individuals with a mental illness. According to National Alliance on Mental Illness, a staggering 2 million people with such conditions are booked into jails each year. Nearly 15% of men and 30% of women booked into jails have a serious mental health condition (NAMI). Subsequently, the individuals who are placed into these jails and prisons often don’t receive the treatment they need. With harsh conditions such as overcrowdedness, poor nutrition, inadequate sanitation, and lack of fresh air or exercise, these individuals are exposed to victimization which can in turn deteriorate their current health conditions (UNODC). My proposal is to initiate a
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According to Unite For Sight, brutal treatments were common and initiated by cultures who viewed mental illness as a form of religious punishment or demonic possession. “In ancient Egyptian, Indian, Greek, and Roman writings, mental illness was categorized as a religious or personal problem. In the 5th century B.C., Hippocrates was a pioneer in treating mentally ill people with techniques not rooted in religion or superstition; instead, he focused on changing a mentally ill patient’s environment or occupation, or administering certain substances as medications” (Unite For Sight). During the Middle Ages, the mentally ill were also seen as cursed or in need of denomination. Negative attitudes towards mental illness continued into the 18th century in the United States, leading to degrading confinement of mentally ill individuals. In the early 1840’s, activist Dorothea Dix advocated for improved living conditions for the mentally ill after noticing the unfair conditions in which many patients occupied. After a 40 year attempt, Dix managed to successfully persuade the United States government into initiating 32 state psychiatric hospitals (Unite For
According to Unite For Sight, brutal treatments were common and initiated by cultures who viewed mental illness as a form of religious punishment or demonic possession. “In ancient Egyptian, Indian, Greek, and Roman writings, mental illness was categorized as a religious or personal problem. In the 5th century B.C., Hippocrates was a pioneer in treating mentally ill people with techniques not rooted in religion or superstition; instead, he focused on changing a mentally ill patient’s environment or occupation, or administering certain substances as medications” (Unite For Sight). During the Middle Ages, the mentally ill were also seen as cursed or in need of denomination. Negative attitudes towards mental illness continued into the 18th century in the United States, leading to degrading confinement of mentally ill individuals. In the early 1840’s, activist Dorothea Dix advocated for improved living conditions for the mentally ill after noticing the unfair conditions in which many patients occupied. After a 40 year attempt, Dix managed to successfully persuade the United States government into initiating 32 state psychiatric hospitals (Unite For