Substance Abuse In Prison Essay

According to Pfeiffer, some mentally ill patients do not receive any form of treatment. Others are on “meaningless and outdated” treatment plans or abruptly stop receiving medication. In recent years, there have been major cuts to substance-abuse programs in jails. Many jails and prisons have psychiatric units, but some refuse to accept violent inmates into these units, claiming that they must face consequences for their actions. Ironically, punishments like solitary confinement are likely to exacerbate violent and self-harming behavior, while treatment is likely to reduce it. Those who do receive treatment lose access to it as soon as they get out of jail, and often return to criminal behavior as a result. According to Ollove, studies show that mentally ill inmates have higher rates of recidivism than their mentally healthy counterparts. The only way that a prison administration can be held responsible for mistreating inmates is if the inmate wins a case of cruel and unusual punishment. The inmate 's lawyer must prove “deliberate indifference” on the part of the administration. Pfeiffer provides the example of a jail that claimed to have “a mental heath services division, a mental health director, and case files.” In reality, none of these …show more content…
Jervis explains how the Houston Housing Authority worked with other departments, such as the police force, to create a housing-first network. Staff members and the police identify homeless individuals on the streets. Thanks to a computerized network, they are able to quickly find available supportive housing apartments for the homeless and bring them there. From 2011, the year that the program was launched, to 2014, the number of chronically homeless people in the city dropped by 57%. The Center for Health Care Services estimated that by reducing visits to emergency rooms and jails, this program saved the government $10