Unfortunately, my loved one developed schizophrenia from being tortured in solitary confinement and abused by officers without ever even being convicted of a crime. The same system that caused his severe mental illnesses continues to punish and torture him for having symptoms of the mental illness they caused.
It has taken a major toll on our whole family.
It has caused irreversible damage, and it continues to cost freedom and a lot of money. He's in jail, in constant psychosis, not getting the help he needs and deserves, and he's not a criminal; he's suffering from severe mental illnesses and a system that punishes the health conditions they inflict on their victims.
Each story is shared by someone impacted by untreated SMI,
lightly edited for clarity, never for meaning.
Do you have an ask? If you were sitting down with your legislator, how would you ask them to help you?
I would ask that they shut down the Jails & prisons, stop criminalizing them, and take them to a mental hospital instead. Stop funding the criminal justice system and start funding the mental and behavioral health system. Stop charging families for phone calls and commissary. Stop punishing and torturing individuals and their families for suffering from SMI. Use our tax dollars for their healthcare, not to inhumanely torture them.
