There are a lot of people in jail who don't need to be. That seemed to be the consensus among an expert panel as they discussed alternatives to incarceration for people with mental health conditions.
"As we see more and more people in crisis, law enforcement is forced to evolve as an organization to figure out how we can now better serve that segment of our population in our community. When I was a young officer, we took them to jail. That was not right," said Little Rock Police Chief Heath Helton.
"So now we evolved to having co-responder teams. Social workers and officers are working together to figure out how we can build those wraparound services."
Helton said the co-responder team was created in 2023.
"We currently have our two social workers and we are getting ready to hire three additional social workers. Our social workers already have a network, an unbelievable network, that branches all across the county and can connect someone to resources to get help."
As Little Rock continues to grow, supporting those experiencing a mental health crisis is an especially urgent topic, noted Chief Helton.
The issue is deeply personal for Sgt. Douglas Bjork of the Pulaski County Sheriff's Office.
"I had a sister that overdosed on drugs. She had a mental health issue," he told the audience. "So it hits home when I get out there. I see people that need help but don't need to go to jail. Yet there's nowhere to really take them and sometimes, unfortunately, the safest place for somebody, believe it or not, is jail because there are not a lot of other places."
Bjork praised the Pulaski County Regional Crisis Stabilization Unit as one alternative to jail or the hospital. It opened its doors in 2018 and is dedicated to helping law enforcement divert people from the justice system when they are facing drug dependency or a mental health crisis.
"That is probably one of the most underused facilities. It's free. It assists somebody who needs immediate care but doesn't need hospital stabilization," he said. "If they are homeless, it doesn't matter. If they don't have insurance, it doesn't matter."
Sgt. Bjork said the service is on a volunteer basis, so no one who goes to the unit will be placed on a mandatory 72-hour hold, as they might be in traditional hospital settings.
He said that he tries to encourage people using the facility to give their name and address so that law enforcement can follow up with them.
Chief Helton noted that many times homeless people do not trust law enforcement. He wants to build trust and show the homeless a side of law enforcement that protects and serves and wants to help, rather than arrest them.
He said crisis intervention training has become more prevalent, saying it is standard for new recruits to go through the training. "I am proud to say that 52 percent of our department is trained in crisis intervention. Soon one hundred percent of our personnel will be trained."
Chief Helton added that all of the department's school resource officers are currently trained in crisis intervention.
Johnisha Graham, a crime prevention advocate who works with young people, said she is encouraged because the younger generation seems better equipped to discuss mental health issues.
"They have an awareness when it comes to mental health," said Graham. "Because growing up, we didn't have the language. I was with a three-year-old this summer and she said, 'Miss Johnisha, I'm just trying to calm myself down. I just can't calm myself down.' So they developed this language for it. They can say they are feeling stressed or have anxiety."
Graham said it is now a matter of making resources available to young people. She added that there are currently not many resources available to children who are dealing with mental health issues or using drugs.
Panelist Heather Mahan, who today works for MEMS as an emergency vehicle operator, struggled with drug addiction and homelessness for many years and told her story in hopes that people can better understand chemical dependency.
She said she smoked meth every day for 30 years. One day, her daughter called her and told her about an open position with MEMS. So Mahan flushed all of the drugs she had in her possession down the toilet and was determined to find a career that would allow her to help people facing the same issues that had been a part of her life for so long.
But, despite having a lot of motivation to get better, Mahan said she felt more sick than she had ever felt in her life while trying to get off of drugs. She wasn't eating or getting fluids. She was crying nonstop. Her family continued to support her and she eventually got better. She has now been sober for two and a half years.
LaShanna Bruce and Deanna Walderns of the 100 Families Initiative of Pulaski County emphasized the desire of the initiative to help families in crisis. They encouraged community services providers to reach out to the 100 Families Initiative to learn more about the availability of HopeHub software, which connects service providers in one place to facilitate effective communication between organizations.
Smart Justice is a magazine, podcast, and continuing news coverage from the nonprofit Restore Hope and covers the pursuit of better outcomes on justice system-related issues, such as child welfare, incarceration, and juvenile justice. Our coverage is solutions-oriented, focusing on the innovative ways in which communities are solving issues and the lessons that have been learned as a result of successes and challenges.
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