Current:Home > StocksMississippi program aims to connect jailed people to mental health services-LoTradeCoin
Mississippi program aims to connect jailed people to mental health services
View Date:2024-12-24 09:12:28
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — A new program in Mississippi is designed to help people who need mental health care services while they are jailed and facing felony charges.
The Roderick and Solange MacArthur Justice Center at the University of Mississippi School of Law announced Wednesday that it has a two-year collaboration with the Mississippi Department of Mental Health.
An attorney working for the MacArthur Forensic Navigator Program hotline will provide information to judges, prosecutors, sheriffs, public defenders and relatives of people in jail, said Cliff Johnson, the MacArthur Justice Center director.
“Everyone involved in our criminal legal system knows that Mississippi, like many states across the country, has for too long allowed people struggling with mental illness to remain locked up in our county jails when what they really need is access to quality mental health care,” Johnson said in a news release.
“Our hope is that this new program will bring an end to needless human suffering, take pressure off sheriffs who don’t have the training or resources to handle these situations, and make families and communities more stable,” he said.
The hotline attorney, Stacy Ferraro, has represented people charged with capital offenses and juveniles sentenced to life without parole. She said people who need mental health services should not be left in jail “to spiral deeper into darkness.”
“My experience has taught me that many of the people arrested in our local communities aren’t people who knowingly disregard the law but instead are family members and neighbors who are off much-needed medications and are acting in response to fear, panic, or delusions caused by their mental illness,” Ferraro said.
The medical director for the Mississippi Department of Mental Health, Dr. Thomas Recore, said the collaboration with the MacArthur Justice Center should help the department reduce waiting times to provide service for people in jails.
“By sharing a clear vision and our individual expertise, we are providing care that not only safeguards our communities but also creates lasting, positive outcomes for those at risk,” Recore said.
A grant from Arnold Ventures funds the navigator program, Johnson said.
Itawamba County Sheriff Mitch Nabors said Johnson, Ferraro and Recore have already helped arrange inpatient care for a woman who was previously diagnosed with a mental illness and was charged with arson in the burning of her family’s home.
“It is imperative to ensure that individuals in our correctional facility do not pose a risk to themselves or others,” Nabors said.
veryGood! (14)
Related
- Joey Graziadei Details Why Kelsey Anderson Took a Break From Social Media
- Attorneys for an Indiana man charged in 2 killings leave case amid questions of evidence security
- Netflix is increasing prices. Here's how much the price hike is going to cost you.
- Feds OK natural gas pipeline expansion in Pacific Northwest over environmentalist protests
- Padma Lakshmi, John Boyega, Hunter Schafer star in Pirelli's 2025 calendar: See the photos
- Texas releases another audit of elections in Harris County, where GOP still challenging losses
- 'Organs of Little Importance' explores the curious ephemera that fill our minds
- Ali Krieger Shares “Happy Place” Photo With Her and Ashlyn Harris’ Kids Amid Divorce
- North Carolina offers schools $1 million to help take students on field trips
- Bad Bunny announces 2024 Most Wanted Tour: Here's how to get tickets, when he's performing
Ranking
- Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul stirs debate: Is this a legitimate fight?
- Sidney Powell vowed to ‘release the Kraken’ to help Donald Trump. She may now testify against him
- Some UFO reports from military witnesses present potential flight concerns, government UAP report says
- More PGA Tour players will jump to LIV Golf for 2024 season, Phil Mickelson says
- Father sought in Amber Alert killed by officer, daughter unharmed after police chase in Ohio
- Iran opens final registration for candidates in next year’s parliament election
- ICC drops war crimes charges against former Central African Republic government minister
- Marine killed in homicide at Camp Lejeune, fellow Marine taken into custody
Recommendation
-
Nicole Kidman Reveals the Surprising Reason for Starring in NSFW Movie Babygirl
-
Canada removes 41 diplomats from India after New Delhi threatens to revoke their immunity
-
In big year for labor, California Gov. Gavin Newsom delivers both wins and surprises
-
Toy Hall of Fame: The 'forgotten five' classic toys up for induction and how fans can vote
-
Nicole Kidman Reveals the Surprising Reason for Starring in NSFW Movie Babygirl
-
Daddy Yankee's reggaeton Netflix show 'Neon' is an endless party
-
Bottle of ‘most-sought after Scotch whisky’ to come under hammer at Sotheby’s in London next month
-
Lupita Nyong’o and Boyfriend Selema Masekela Break Up After One Year of Dating