“There is growing evidence that keeping individuals with mental illness out of the criminal justice system by engaging them in treatment and providing appropriate supports reduces both human and economic costs.
The majority of arrests of people with mental illness involve non-violent charges such as crimes against the public order or property offenses.
In Cook County, Sheriff Tom Dart says the county jail is so overwhelmed with people whose offenses are more attributable to mental health issues than criminal impulses that the facility has become a source of mental health care for the city, and he’s sick of it.”
NAMI and CURE IL are joining together to provide guidence and support for those individuals who live with mental illness are put in jail or prison.
Their symptoms tend to worsen due to the stresses of their environment and a lack of access to adequate treatment. Some even develop a mental illness while they are in jail or prison. Consequently, a large proportion of these individuals tend to remain trapped, cycling in and out of the criminal justice system, which creates a situation that is burdensome to law enforcement and corrections facilities, costly for communities and unfair to the individuals who are living with these illnesses.
WE welcome any help and suggestions for programs