OFF the BEAT ROBERT L. SPINKS, MA, MS
COMMENTATOR
Criminalizing Mental Health – Part 2 Published on Wed, January 26, 2011 by Robert Spinks, MA, MS http://www.sequimgazette.com/spinks
Part 2: The Criminalization of Mental Health Washington had three state mental health hospitals; Western State in Steilacoom, Northern State in Sedro-Woolley and Eastern State in Medical Lake. Clallam and Jefferson counties were served by Northern State Hospital near Sedro-Woolley, which opened in 1912 covering 1,200 acres. The institution housed up to 2,700 patients from Northwest Washington. Patients received vocational training on the farm, dairy, printing plant, greenhouse and manufactured posts, which made the hospital largely self-sufficient. Eastern State Hospital opened in 1891 and housed nearly 2,300 patients; today only 287 beds are available. Western State Hospital also opened in 1891 and today operates with just 823 beds, down from its peak of over 2,600 patients. Washington faces another budget crisis today, reminiscent of the budget challenge that Governor Dan Evens faced and resulted in his 1973 closure of Northern State Hospital. Page 1 of 3
Today we have traded housing, training and medical care for pills, homelessness and victimization. Jails: The Mental Health Facilities of the 21st Century. According to the National Association of Counties, in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, individuals with mental illness were released from state-run hospitals often without alternative placement. Many became victims of crime or committed repeat non-violent crimes, incarceration, release from jail, and a cycle of recidivism. By default, jails have become the primary source of care for the mentally ill, a function that jails are neither equipped nor designed to handle. The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill estimates that 25 to 40 percent of the mentally ill today will come in contact with the criminal justice system for one reason or another. Clallam County Sheriff Bill Benedict has witnessed this challenge in our own community. He estimates that about a third of the inmate