While officially deinstitutionalization has been embraced to ensure that individuals with mental illnesses do not lose their freedom unless they are unable to complete the tasks of daily life or are a danger to others or themselves, this has not really solved the pervasive problem of a lack of quality treatment for mentally ill patients in America society. While deinstitutionalization may have been an important acknowledgement of the fact that very few mental health institutions were serving patients’ needs, widespread use of institutional settings was not replaced by meaningful outpatient care.

Jails and prisons are now responsible for absorbing much of the overflow of the mentally ill. “Serious mental illness has become so prevalent in the US corrections system that jails and prisons are now commonly called ‘the new asylums.’…approximately 20% of inmates in jails and 15% of inmates in state prisons are now estimated to have a serious mental illness” (“Serious Mental Illness Prevalence,” 2016). Prisons are ill-equipped to deal with the needs of the mentally ill and often patients’ challenges are exacerbated by exposure to highly stressful situations. Individuals whose mental health is unstable and who are not receiving appropriate treatment likewise may be more apt to commit crimes to survive.

Homeless shelters likewise have high populations of individuals with mental illnesses. Because residency in such shelters is transient, people often come and go before they can receive adequate support for their condition. Andrew Sperling, legislative director for the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill notes, “People with mental illness leave acute or chronic care facilities without adequate provisions for their housing or support, and end up sliding into homeless shelters,” while they lack the financial ability to solicit healthcare to ensure that they are receiving appropriate medication and counseling (“People with Mental Illness,” 2002). Mental illness is manageable in most patients but without support, it is very easy for people to fall through the social safety net into institutional settings which are ill-equipped to deal with the mentally ill.

References

People with mental illness. (2002). NPR. Retrieved from: https://www.npr.org/news/specials/housingfirst/whoneeds/mentallyill.html

Serious mental illness prevalence in jails and prisons. (2016). Treatment Advocacy Center. Retrieved from: http://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org/evidence-and-research/learn- more-about/3695