Douglas County commissioners voted Tuesday to approve the creation of a new mental health treatment department. The county has $50 million in ARPA funding set aside for mental health priorities and plans to use some of that funding for this project, which may include parking structures. . The new unit will be housed in a correctional facility. The department, located on South 17th Street, will treat inmates with the most severe mental health needs. With the approval of the new Mental Health Treatment Unit, Douglas County Jail will soon be able to treat the most severe mental health problems in facilities designed for that purpose. Prisons today were not built to treat inmates facing severe mental health problems. Douglas County Sheriff Aaron Hanson said, “There’s a good chance we can help these people achieve better behavioral health.” It is called “mono”. The unit features his 78 specially designed beds and treatment environment built from the ground up. Safety is our number one goal. Douglas County Corrections Commissioner Michael Myers told KETV that about 44 percent of inmates have been diagnosed with a mental illness. 20% have a serious illness such as schizophrenia. “We have to put a round nail in a square hole and do a lot to provide care and treatment to these people in an environment they weren’t made for,” Myers said. . Hanson said his agent is always available for mental health calls, pointing to an incident just Monday in which a nearly naked suspect with a knife robbed a car. “This is a fine example of a gentleman who has clearly committed a serious felony, but he is still human,” Hanson said. This prison is by default he one of the largest mental health providers in Omaha, if not the largest. The county hopes better facilities will produce better results. “This will be an environment that will help stabilize people well and put them in a much better position when they get out of prison,” Myers said. Myers expects the new division to be completed within the next few years. Some commissioners said counties have long needed to direct more money to mental health. Maureen Boyle said it was a good start, but ARPA’s funding should also be diverted to focused local organizations: “We want homeless people, chronic substance abusers, “We need to seriously care for people who are on the verge of entering the criminal justice system. But if there is anything we can do, we can avoid it and develop programs for them.” Mr Boyle said. The resolution was passed by a vote of 5 to 2. Get the latest headlines from KETV NewsWatch 7
Douglas County commissioners voted Tuesday to approve the creation of a new mental health treatment department.
The county has $50 million in ARPA funds set aside for mental health priorities, and it plans to use some of that money for this project, which could include building a parking lot.
The new unit will be located in the Department of Corrections on South 17th Street and will treat inmates with the most severe mental health needs.
With the approval of the new Mental Health Treatment Unit, Douglas County Jail will soon be able to treat the most severe mental health problems in facilities designed for that purpose.
Prisons today were not built to treat inmates facing severe mental health problems. Sheriffs are calling the new unit in prison a game changer.
Douglas County Sheriff Aaron Hanson said, “There’s a good chance we can help these people achieve better behavioral health.”
The unit features 78 specially designed beds and a treatment environment built from the ground up. Safety is our number one goal. Douglas County Corrections Commissioner Michael Myers told KETV that about 44 percent of inmates have been diagnosed with a mental illness. 20% have a serious illness such as schizophrenia.
“We have to put a round nail in a square hole and do a lot to provide care and treatment to these people in an environment they weren’t made for,” Myers said. .
Hanson said his agent is always available for mental health calls, pointing to an incident just Monday in which a nearly naked suspect with a knife robbed a car.
“This is a fine example of a gentleman who has clearly committed a serious felony, but he is still human,” Hanson said.
This prison is by default one of the largest mental health providers in Omaha, if not the largest. The county hopes better facilities will produce better results.
“This will be an environment that will help stabilize people well and put them in a much better position when they get out of prison,” Myers said.
Myers expects the new unit to be completed within the next few years.
Some commissioners said counties have long needed to direct more money to mental health.
Maureen Boyle said this was a good start, but ARPA’s funding should also go to local organizations focused on addiction and homeless care.
“We really need to care about homeless people, chronic substance abusers, and even those on the verge of entering the criminal justice system. Those programs,” Boyle said.
The resolution was passed by a vote of 5 to 2.
Get the latest headlines from KETV NewsWatch 7