![]() And so that puts somebody at risk for like a trespass charge, potentially something more serious, depending on how they access that property.” “So if they don't have a home or somewhere to lay their head at night, they're often in a park or in other places not meant for human habitation. “People have to exist somewhere,” she said. She said just the nature of being unhoused can put a person at risk for certain criminal offenses. “Let’s take them into the mental health system figure out what their needs are,” she said.īeth Keeney is the president and CEO at LifeSpring, a community health organization working with the courts on the new program. “What they need is treatment and resources that help them find ways to live effectively on the streets, if that's where they're going to live.”Ĭarmichael said the team will be talking with local police departments, asking if they could in certain situations bring people to facilities like LifeSpring Health Systems or Wellstone Regional Hospital instead of jail. “Because they really don't need to be in jail,” she said. ![]() It’s this group Carmichael said the new court will initially focus on - people who may face low-level charges like criminal trespass or disorderly conduct. According to the study, nearly half of unhoused people in the state are living with mental illness. It’s higher among people who are incarcerated, at around 40%. ![]() That’s led to an estimated annual cost of $4.2 billion in untreated mental illness. Results of a two-year study released in September by the Indiana Behavioral Health Commission shows one in five people in Indiana experience mental illness, of which around 20% are untreated. They’re part of the system of problem-solving courts in Indiana. It will join the roughly 20 other mental health courts either in operation or in planning stages in the state. That’s why she and other officials and advocates are working to start a mental health court in Clark County - a way to intervene and connect people to services and resources. We see so many people come through the court systems that don't really need to be there, but don't have any other resources.” “Our jails are full of people who need mental health treatment and not punishment. “We've got to do things differently,” Carmichael said. But in many cases, she said, jail time might not be the most appropriate. 4 Judge Vicki Carmichael said she sees people on a regular basis in her courtroom who are living with mental illness. Aprile Rickert / LPMĬlark County Circuit Court No. Clark County is working toward implementing a mental health court to help connect people with mental illness to services and support.
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