Support mental health response services.
Happy Thursday!
And a special three month anniversary to the Anti-Racism Daily! How long have you been on this journey with us? Take a look back and reflect on what you've learned. Do you have a story about how you've put the ARD into action? Let me know by replying to this email – we might feature you on our podcast launching next week! 🎉
But first, be sure to read today's call to advocate for alternative mental health response services in your community. Our criminal justice system wasn't designed for this, and as we demand justice for Daniel Prude we must also create more accountability for the safety of those most vulnerable.
As always, your contributions are so appreciated! You can give on our website, PayPal, or Venmo (@nicoleacardoza), or subscribe monthly on our Patreon.
Nicole
TAKE ACTION
Research: What are the alternatives to calling 911 in your city?
Are there none? Learn what your city council is planning for future budget spending related to law enforcement. Fight for an alternative.
Donate to the GoFundMe to support the family of Daniel Prude.
GET EDUCATED
On March 23, Joe Prude noticed his brother, Daniel Prude, acting strangely and called the police for help. Officers found Daniel Prude naked and unarmed. He complied with officers’ demands and was quickly handcuffed. The officers then placed a spit sock – a mesh device used to shield police officers from spit and blood from the victim – over Prude’s head, one asking him whether or not he had AIDS. The officers then pin Prude down on the ground for over two minutes, ignoring Prude’s cries for help and continue to kneel on him as he appears to stop breathing. The family took Prude off of life support the following week. The medical examiner determined Prude’s death was a homicide. The police body camera footage was recently released as the family and local activists demand justice. Full story on The Appeal.
“I placed the phone call for my brother to get help, not for my brother to get lynched. When I say get lynched, that was full fledged, murder, cold-blooded — nothing other than cold-blooded murder. The man is defenseless, naked on the ground, cuffed up already. I mean come on, how many brothers got to die for society to understand that this needs to stop? You killed a defenseless black man, a father’s son, a brother’s brother, a nephew’s uncle.”
Joe Prude, the brother of Daniel Prude, for Rochester First
Ashley Gantt, a community organizer from Free the People Roc and the New York Civil Liberties Union, spoke with the family and other activists yesterday demanding justice. Their speech noted that "the Rochester Police Department has shown time and again that they are not trained to deal with mental health crises. These officers are trained to kill and not to de-escalate” (Democrat and Chronicle). This story, unfortunately, isn’t distinct to just Rochester. Across the country, individuals with mental health conditions are disproportionately impacted by the police.
One in four people killed by police in 2015 had a severe mental health condition (Washington Post). And beyond this, 40% of people with serious mental health conditions will interact with the criminal justice system in their lifetimes. 2 million are booked in jails each year (Washington Post). Most of these individuals haven’t been convicted of a crime, but if they have, they’re more likely to have been charged with a minor offense than something series (NAMI).
What’s more? They:
Remain in jail 4x to 8x longer than people without mental health conditions charged with the same crime
Cost 7x more than other inmates in jail
Are less likely to make bail
Are more likely to gain new charges while incarcerated
In fact, there are more people with mental health conditions in prisons than hospitals (Washington Post).
And communities of color, particularly Black people, are especially at risk, as they’re already disproportionately impacted by police brutality (Time). As we discussed in an earlier newsletter, Black people are more likely to have mental health issues and other disabilities, and less likely to receive diagnosis and treatment (Time).
This is why the conversation surrounding “defund the police” is so critical. Our law enforcement often acts as first responders for mental health crises. John Snook, the executive director of the Treatment Advocacy Center, emphasizes that mental health crises is the only medical illness that we allow the police to respond to. “Someone has a heart attack, a stroke—we don't send the police to help them. Law enforcement aren't trained to be mental health professionals” (Vice).
Part of this is because of a historical shift to defund mental health, accelerated in the 1960s with the passage of Medicaid (Mother Jones). From there, a series of mental health funding cuts caused state mental health services to dwindle nationwide. The Sentencing Project found that 6 out of 10 states with the least access to care have the highest rates of incarceration. Learn more about the history of deinstitutionalization and defunding the police in-depth over at Vice.
But another part of this is a history of intentionally deeming Black people as mentally ill to justify enslavement and dehumanization, which Ebony explained in detail in an earlier newsletter on Black mental health. Not only has this bias become reinforced throughout history, it becomes cemented within our criminal justice system when a Black person experiencing a mental health crises become synonymous with danger and threat.
Mental health response organizations across the country are providing that alternative forms of support are possible, and effective in supporting citizens in need without violence. CAHOOTS, or Crisis Assistance Helping Out on the Streets, is a non-profit organization working alongside local police in Eugene, OR to support mental health 911 calls, meeting those in need wtih medical resources nad trained professionals (Vice). Austin has a Expanded Mobile Crisis Outreach Team which does the same, and is expanding into telehealth care (Gov 1). More initiatives like this are expanding across the country (Vice) and could effectively reallocate funding from law enforcement while keeping these vulnerable communities safe.
And all of the news about police brutality is creating more mental health strain, exacerbating the problem at hand. A study published in The Lancet in 2018 found that stories of police killings have adverse effects on mental health among Black American adults who were not directly affected by the incident (Penn Today). Another study published in 2019 found that viewing viral videos of police killings, beatings, and arrests — and seeing images of immigrants in cages — was associated with symptoms of depression and PTSD in adolescents (Journal of Adolescent Health). According to the lead researcher Brendesha Tynes, this is especially insidious, as it can “make these kids feel worse about their racial identity, and make them internalize some of that dehumanization” (The Verge). We frequently write about why we don’t share graphic videos of brutality, and this is part of the reason why.
The Lancet study recommends that communities should have, in part, adequate mental health resources to heal from the trauma of these incidents. As we collectively continue to watch the video footage and stories circulate in the media, we need to resource ourselves as best we can to make it through during this significant racial reckoning of our time.
key takeaways
Individuals with mental health conditions, particularly people of color, are more likely to be negatively impacted by the criminal justice system
There are more people with mental health conditions in prisons than hospitals
By investing in community-based mental health services crisis response services we can decrease police brutality
RELATED ISSUES
8/27/2020 | Help decriminalize drug possession.
8/26/2020 | Be an active bystander.
8/24/2020 | Demand justice for Jacob Blake.
8/23/2020 | Support those incarcerated and impacted by COVID-19.
8/12/2020 | Demand justice for Elijah McClain.
7/26/2020 | Pay attention to the Portland protests.
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