Alternative to jail sought for mentally ill substance abusers



Keysnews.com
BY TRACI RORK Citizen Staff Monroe County will apply for a portion of a new state grant that would pump $3.8 million into programs that treat mentally ill people with substance abuse problems, with the ultimate goal of keeping them out of jail. The Florida Substance Abuse and Mental Health Corp., a nonprofit the Legislature created to oversee the state's publicly funded services, this week announced the state's 67 counties may apply for the funds beginning Aug. 21. "We wanted to get the word out so those of interest can go to their county and get involved," said agency spokeswoman Krisita P. Burket. In Monroe County, the Southernmost Homeless Assistance League is very interested, and on Thursday met with county government officials to urge them to apply for the funding. "I support it 100 percent and, in fact, feel so strongly about it that I'm putting it on the agenda now so we can get involved," county Mayor Mario Di Gennaro said after the meeting in Marathon. "If we cut it off at the path, that's the way to go." Statistics were not available Thursday, but Florida Keys officials well know there are a significant number of mentally ill people with substance abuse problems, most visibly the region's high homeless population, many of whom end up in the Stock Island jail at one time or another. "That's the issue in the county — in all counties," said County Administrator Tom Willi, who did not attend the meeting. "It's expensive to incarcerate them and not the best method of disposing of that type of issue." Nationwide, an estimated 800,000 people with serious mental illness are thrown in jail each year. Of those, 72 percent are said to also have a substance abuse problem. Adults and juveniles alike often become repeat offenders and eventually serve hard time in prison. Getting them the appropriate care, instead of leaving them trapped in the criminal justice system's revolving door, is the goal of the recently passed HB 1477, which created the Criminal Justice, Mental Health and Substance Abuse Reinvestment Grant Program. It will offer two types of grants: a one-year planning grant and a three-year implementation grant. The former's maximum award is $100,000 and the latter's is $1 million. Di Gennaro echoed the sentiment that it's not cost-effective to incarcerate such people. "Let's do something," he said. "Let's do the right thing to help people." trork@keysnews.com