EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WFIE) – When you think of a jail, your first thought might not be roundtable meetings and mental health discussions, but that’s the case at the Vanderburgh County Jail.
Last year officials teamed up with Southwestern Behavioral Health to find ways to keep inmates from ending up back in jail, and they started with their mental health.
Southwestern Behavioral Health’s Director of Community Support Services, Cedalia Ellis, says they’re always trying to improve the jail for inmates.
“Looking at the need within the jail, we’re constantly looking for different things as far as improvement and how we can make access available for all within the jail system as well as once they leave,” Ellis stated.
Southwestern’s Forensic Program Manager, Dannielle Shoenfeld officials say in the past year, they served 147 inmates, helping them with therapy and medication.
They say 78% of them have not re-offended, and 90% have at least one referral upon release.
Officials say what they’re doing is working, and the results are positive.
“We’ve been out here for a year. We’re merging two very different systems, and we’re seeing results, and it’s exciting, and you know, the idea that we’re all coming together just to help people, and just already seeing this impact in the community is huge.”
In addition to the promising statistics, officials from the Indiana Council on Mental Health presented Sheriff Noah Robinson with their Justice Advocacy Award for his efforts.
Robinson says the upcoming expansion was specifically designed for mental health, with 10 beds in a mental health unit and 32 beds in a substance abuse unit.
He says focusing on mental health is key to stopping problems before they start, and keeping the jail population lower.
“When You can lower your jail population, you’re not only reducing the stress on the staff, with less stess on staff, there’s less employee turnover, you have happier employees, which means better interactions with folks who are in jail, and then you have less stress on the inmates even more importantly,” Robinson stated.
So the next time you see a brown uniform, just remember, they have bigger and better goals than simply putting people behind bars.
Officials say going forward, they hope the program continues its success, and they hope next year’s statistics are even better.
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