In most cities there is a problem that is widespread, yet often goes unrecognized. It usually takes an outsider to notice it.
But what if every city has the same problem?
What if in the interests of humanity the nation shut down its scandalous mental hospitals but then didn't provide the services to fill the needs? That left the seriously mentally ill to turn to the streets and then to jail.
The fact is that many people in the jails are dealing with mental illness and substance abuse.
On this subject, Duval County Sheriff John Rutherford and St. Johns County Sheriff David Shoar addressed a recent meeting of the mental health study group assembled by Jacksonville Community Council Inc.
Rutherford seeks to divert people with mental health issues out of the criminal justice system unless there is a serious crime like a violent incident involved.
"A jail is not a therapeutic community," Rutherford said. "It's never going to be. It can't be. That's why they need to receive treatment in the community, not in jail."
Nevertheless, jails seek to stabilize prisoners with mental health and substance abuse issues. Too often there are not enough services after release.
Without treatment for mental health and substance abuse issues, people will be right back in jail.
Dealing with the mentally ill requires levels of skill not often found in routine policing. Therefore, the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office has specially trained officers for these situations.
Invariably funding comes up.
"The system that we have would work if it were funded properly," Rutherford said.
For instance, the state does not even keep track of the seriously mentally ill like it once did in the 1990s, Rutherford said.
Rutherford also criticized the privatization of some assisted living facilities. That even means some facilities advertise to bring mentally ill here.
"Folks, that's crazy," he said.A POPULAR STOP FOR EX-OFFENDERS
By the same token, Jacksonville has become a magnet for ex- offenders who don't have any support at home.
North Florida is home to some of the state's biggest prisons. When prisoners are released, says Rutherford, they often come to Jacksonville.
"I want to take care of our people," Rutherford said. "I told the secretary of corrections I'm not taking South Florida's people."
Cindy Funkhouser, CEO of the Sulzbacher Center, said a high percentage of mentally ill homeless people had been sexually abused as children.
A high number of people in prison also experienced childhood sexual trauma.
Funkhouser said 100 percent of all chronically homeless women on the street have been abused, either physically or sexually.EARLY PREVENTION IS KEY
Candace Hodgkins, CEO of Gateway Community Services, says there often are early signs of mental illness, often related to various childhood traumas.
One place to catch the problems early is at the Juvenile Assessment Center, but budget cuts have slashed the staff. Now there is just one person doing the screenings. That means only about one- third of the youths are being assessed. That should be rectified soon thanks to a grant that will allow the hiring of three more assessors.
The idea behind the Juvenile Assessment Center is to direct juveniles to support before they get stuck in the criminal justice system. The good news is that youth arrests are down statewide thanks to the use of civil citations. This circuit, however, has lagged behind other metro areas.
Hodgkins said one positive aspect is that when appointments are made with family members after a youth is referred to the Juvenile Assessment Center, 98 percent show up.
"Now this is really amazing," she said. "If we can do a better job as a community, we can reach these folks."
But it takes a community courageous enough to admit there is a problem with the will to do something about it.
The JCCI study is a major study to create an appreciation of the problem. The next step, the implementation phase, will involve action steps.
"Now these folks are getting their treatment in jail, and that is a shame," Rutherford said.
It's a shame that society has taken it for granted for so long.
Jacksonville ranks on the low end for funding and services for the mentally ill.
We need to stop accepting it.
Let's hope this JCCI study is a breakthrough.QUOTABLEFrom David Shoar, sheriff of St. Johns County:- "I can look at one statistic and really get a sense of the mental health in a community, suicide rates.- "Suicide is the absolute end state of mental health issues."- "We have an alarming suicide rate in St. Johns County." - The suicide rate in St. Johns County was 19.2 deaths per 100,000 in 2012, higher than Duvals 17.1.From John Rutherford, sheriff of Duval County:- "We don't do a good enough job in Tallahassee of bringing dollars back to Duval County. That needs to change."From The New York Times:- "In the 1800s, Dorothea Dix led a campaign against the imprisonment of the mentally ill, leading to far-reaching reforms and the establishment of mental hospitals. Now we as a society have, in effect, returned to the 1800s."FAST FACTS- More than three times as many mentally ill people are housed in jails as in hospitals.Source: The New York Times