Everyone loses when we criminalize a person with a mental illness. People with mental illnesses experience trauma and mental health treatment is rarely adequate in jail or prison. In addition, they find it more difficult to get a job and find housing when they have a criminal record. Families suffer when their loved ones are imprisoned. Law enforcement resources are diverted when people with mental illnesses are arrested and tax dollars are misspent. Ultimately, the Bazelon Center aims to end incarceration of individuals with mental illness by diverting them away from jails and into community-based programs.
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