31 Aug 2021 Disability and Incarceration

A Black man with white hair stands in a jail cell with his hands outside the bars. He has tatoos on his forearms. His hands are relaxed and his shoulders are down. To me, he appears despondent.

I chose a picture of a Black man because people of color are disproportionally arrested and incarcerated compared to white people. Over half of people in US prisons are mentally ill. See links below.

Photo by RODNAE Productions from Pexels

 History of Psychiatric Hospitals

https://www.nursing.upenn.edu/nhhc/nurses-institutions-caring/history-of-psychiatric-hospitals/

America's Long-Suffering Mental Health System

https://origins.osu.edu/article/americas-long-suffering-mental-health-system

Improving mental health for inmates

Using a variety of new strategies, psychologists in correctional settings are transforming care for people in prisons and jails

https://www.apa.org/monitor/2019/03/mental-heath-inmates

Fact Sheet: Incarceration and Mental Health

http://psych-history.weill.cornell.edu/his_res/imi.html

Serious Mental Illness Prevalence in Jails and Prisons

https://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org/evidence-and-research/learn-more-about/3695#:~:text=SMI%20POPULATION%20ESTIMATES,number%20has%20grown%20since%20then.

Yes, U.S. locks people up at a higher rate than any other country

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2015/07/07/yes-u-s-locks-people-up-at-a-higher-rate-than-any-other-country/