Inmates are not receiving adequate mental health services

To the editor:
    Inmates at the Aroostook County jail in Houlton are not receiving adequate mental health services. Maine State jail standards require all jails to designate a portion of their DOC-provided budget for mental health services. The Aroostook County jail is currently the only jail in Maine that does not allocate funds specifically for mental health services to inmates.     Citizens of the state of Maine are entitled to the same treatment, regardless of the county they occupy. The Aroostook Mental Health Center has a contract with the Department of Corrections to provide emergency services to the jail when needed. But the funds AMHC receives from the state, roughly $45,000/year, must go toward providing crisis intervention services for the entire county.
    It is preferable to have inmates leave the jails with an increase in life skills and resources, in order to prevent repeat offenses or what some may call “the revolving door.” If inmates are given the opportunity to rehabilitate while incarcerated, they are less likely to become repeat offenders. All citizens benefit from a decrease in recidivism rates. Without adequate rehabilitation, inmates are unleashed upon the community with little resources of their own and, as a result, the community as a whole suffers.
    Maine State Rep. Patricia Sutherland (D-Chapman) affirmed “Inmates should have mental health services. They don’t have any resources on the outside, so if they can get them while they are in jail, they won’t be back out doing what they did before.” Sutherland goes on to say, “This is an injustice.”
    The discrepancy lies in funding. When a person is convicted and sentenced to a county jail for longer than 30 days, that person loses Mainecare benefits and, therefore, services the person had on the outside and new services, if needed, cannot be billed to Mainecare. If Maine is not going to supplement services that would otherwise be provided, if the person was not incarcerated, then they shouldn’t be taking those services away.
    An increase in the amount of mental health services in the Aroostook County jail would benefit our community and would definitely outweigh the minimal financial cost of such services. Requiring mental health services would bring the inmates to a level of productivity and self-awareness. It would get them thinking about the choices they have made that have led down the path they have taken. It is hopeful that a new level of awareness through assistive mental health and rehabilitation programs will promote positive change and activity in inmates instead of sitting around doing nothing in jail on county dollars.
    Rehabilitation and intervention in the jail can provide tools that inmates need to be successful and confident on the outside. Mental health services would provide inmates with an opportunity to work on life skills, develop positive coping mechanisms, and provide growth-fostering relationships to a community of people in need. Without adequate support and positive regard, a belief that these people can change for the better, why would they ever believe in themselves? Why should we not offer them a fair chance and support their growth with the tools they need? If we don’t, they will continue to pass through the revolving doors of the Aroostook County jail.