"That is roughly 60 million people. And a significant number of them will, at some point, find themselves not in a therapist's office or a hospital but in a courtroom. The numbers are sobering. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, approximately 2 million times each year, people with serious mental illness are booked into jails. Nearly two in five people who are incarcerated have a history of mental illness. Seventy percent of youth in the juvenile justice system have a diagnosable mental health condition. Suicide is the leading cause of death for people held in local jails."
"data from Albany County Mental Health Commissioner Dr. Stephen Giordano tells a striking story: as of the end of March 2026, the Albany County jail census stood at 591; 301 of those individuals, roughly half, were housed in the Mental Health Unit. In recent months, that proportion has climbed to as high as 60%."
"The largest de facto psychiatric institutions in this country are not hospitals. They are Rikers Island, Cook County Jail, and Los Angeles County Jail. That is not justice. That is a crisis wearing a badge. We have seen this up close. We have watched people cycle through courtrooms not because they are beyond help, but because help never reached them."
"One graduate of the Albany City Alternative Treatment Court knows what that difference looks like. She came into the program at what she describes as a very dark moment facing eviction, addiction, and arrest simultaneously. What she found on the other side of that door was not a system"
Nearly one in five American adults live with a mental illness, and many eventually encounter the justice system instead of treatment. Serious mental illness leads to jail bookings about two million times each year, and many incarcerated people have mental health histories. Youth in juvenile justice commonly have diagnosable mental health conditions, and suicide is the leading cause of death in local jails. In Albany County, about half of jail residents are housed in a mental health unit, with the proportion rising to around 60%. Large jail systems function as de facto psychiatric institutions, worsening outcomes when support fails to reach people. Alternative treatment courts can interrupt cycles by connecting individuals to help rather than punishment.
#mental-health-awareness #criminal-justice #jail-suicide #juvenile-justice #alternative-treatment-courts
Read at www.amny.com
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