Mental Health Behind Bars
Too often, people living with a mental health condition don’t get the help they need and end up in jail. There, they go from being potential psychiatric patients to being inmates — expected to comply with orders or face consequences, even when their conditions make this difficult or impossible. WITF is exposing conditions at jails and prisons in Pennsylvania, showing how people who need help are often hurt instead. And WITF is looking for solutions — highlighting areas where law enforcement and mental health professionals are trying humane alternatives.
Additional coverage:
Featured Stories
Jails fail to accommodate people with mental illness. In some cases, it’s a civil rights violation.
Conditions in some corrections facilities are a a moral failure that also costs taxpayers millions.
Pennsylvania lawmakers weigh in on need for reforms after investigation into county jails and mental health
Prison oversight boards and funding for jails are among the ideas presented.
In Pa. county jails, people with mental illness are routinely met with pepper spray and stun guns
A WITF investigation finds that Pennsylvania county corrections officers use physical force on people who may be unable to comply with orders due to a mental health condition.
Pennsylvania mental health advocates hopeful for funding increase
Recent Stories
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Elliot Kallen, Co-Founder and President of A Brighter Day, joined us on The Spark Wednesday to discuss teen depression and ways to help those experiencing it.
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Ryan Gaylor
Bethlehem looks to expand program pairing social workers, police
By Ryan Gaylor/LehighValleyNews.com -
U.S. Senate HELP Committee
A Pennsylvania student tells U.S. Senators that more money is needed for teens’ mental health
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Michael Rubinkam
Dauphin County hired ‘expert’ to review jail deaths, but won’t release report
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Submitted
Jails fail to accommodate people with mental illness. In some cases, it’s a civil rights violation.
Conditions in some corrections facilities are a a moral failure that also costs taxpayers millions.
-
Michael Rubinkam
Pennsylvania lawmakers weigh in on need for reforms after investigation into county jails and mental health
Prison oversight boards and funding for jails are among the ideas presented.
-
Elizabeth Robertson
Jail officials across Pennsylvania sound alarm as mental health crisis puts people at risk, survey finds
A statewide survey of county jails by Spotlight PA and the Pittsburgh Institute for Nonprofit Journalism revealed many facilities admit they are not equipped for the growing mental health crisis.
By Danielle Ohl/Spotlight PA and Brittany Hailer/The Pittsburgh Institute for Nonprofit Journalism
