National
When Getting Arrested Becomes An Opportunity To Heal
By
Oct 7, 2016 - 9:41:06 AM
(HealthNewsDigest.com) - Getting arrested isn’t something most people think of as a positive experience. For Leslie Caldwell, however, getting pulled over while under the influence of alcohol changed the course of her life.
This wasn’t
After her last arrest and incarceration,
Specialty Courts Can Offer Helpful Alternatives To Incarceration
Specialty courts deal with specific cases, such as those involving mental health, drugs, veteran’s issues, and domestic violence. These courts work to identify people struggling with such problems and find strategies to help them recover, live healthier, and make better choices. Adults and youths can avoid jail or have their sentences greatly reduced by agreeing to participate in community “diversion programs” designed to help them heal. There are more than 3,000 program sites across the country, many of which are supported with funding and technical assistance by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), an agency in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
While it is most helpful to identify a person with mental health or substance use issues before incarceration, there are different points at which a person might be referred to a community program: when engaging with law enforcement, at initial detention or a first court appearance, in jails and courts, when released from jail and re-entering the community, and during probation or parole. Any one of these points in the process can be an opportunity to identify someone needing help so that underlying concerns can be addressed and jail time can be minimized. SAMHSA provides screening tools, technical assistance, and other guidance to help mental health professionals, judges, law enforcement officers and others in the criminal justice system to effectively use diversion programs for nonviolent offenders—and to help the public to understand how these programs are good for individuals, families, and communities.
These court-based programs can also give people with prior arrests who are in recovery the opportunity to help others in similar situations. Some are hired to help identify and work with those who have just entered the system. These peers can more easily recognize the circumstances involving mental health and substance use disorders that can ultimately lead to an arrest. Their personal lived experiences make them valuable members of the treatment team as mentors, volunteers, or paid specialists.
Jail Diversion Starts The Healing Process
In the last and most serious arrest,
Three years later,
“I was really depressed and thought nobody could relate to me—so I became a functional alcoholic,” said
“I am a good mother now. The kids know that there are consequences for their actions and I don’t just let them do whatever they want, as they could before,” said
For further information about specialty courts and jail diversion programs or to learn more about mental illness and substance use disorders, visit www.samhsa.gov/criminal-juvenile-justice.
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