Treating Mental Illness in Prison

The United States has the largest and most expensive prison system in the world. The inmate population has grown by nearly 80 percent over the last decade, partly because more than half the inmates commit new crimes soon after release and quickly end up back inside.

Two new reports from prison study groups suggest that mentally ill inmates are prime candidates not just for recidivism, but for destructive behavior and suicide when prisons fail to handle them properly. The studies, by Human Rights Watch and the Correctional Association of New York, show that prisons have actually become mental institutions by default. But they have largely failed to develop treatment programs that would permit mentally ill inmates to establish a routine that would allow them to control their symptoms and their lives.

The Human Rights Watch report can be accessed here. Reports authored by the Correctional Association of New York are provided here.

Tomorrow, November 1, is All Saints Day, also known as The Day of the Dead in Mexico. Tradition exists to remember the lives of those whom we have loved and lost. I’m keen on ritual and symbolism. I participated at an observance while in graduate school and found it very meaningful.

Well, Heather Corinna has asked a pertinent question in her entry for today:

While I was in heaven at the shop, peeking into little retablo doors, it occurred to me that perhaps we need a Day of the Dead for relationships as well as physical deaths. I’ve been hit with a lot of death in my life, especially my early life, and especially very violent death, so being able to have at least one day a year to set out photographs and icons, remember gladly those lost to me, to do some creative work with my feelings, to have a feast with my dead and have conversations with them I’m missing, or never got to have at all, is such a great ritual and comfort. Being able to remember — especially in a culture which is so afraid of death, which cloaks it in so much heaviness and sorrow — the lives of those past with joy, even if it’s bittersweet, and look at death with less fear and more reverence and feeling, is just so valuable.

I think we could use the same kind of ritual for emotional deaths and endings, with the same sense of honor and love. I know I could. Certainly, people do ritualistic things with the ends of relationships, but I think most of them are usually negative: burning things, chopping up or throwing away photographs, getting sauced with friends and dissing ex-partners, engaging in behaviour to attack those exes in some way, et cetera.

But what if, instead, we made a feast for our ex-lovers?

What if, indeed? You can read Heather’s ideas of what such a feast might entail by going here. (Or click below to continue reading.)
Continue reading →

Although the current temperature (90 degrees) belies the time of year, the retail world has begun its annual bludgeoning marketing of Christmas decorations; in some cases I have heard carols piping through store sound systems! I am dismayed, and am reminded why I shop for gifts early — to avoid the madness that overtakes us as December 25 inches closer.

Yes, that’s contradictory, I know. I dislike being bombarded by ho-ho-hoing Santas and kitschy green and red bric-a-brac in autumn, while at the same time I usually finish my gift shopping by the end of October or, at the very latest, by Thanksgiving. I do this to maintain my sanity.

Don’t misunderstand. I enjoy Christmas. I really do, a whole bunch. (Ask my boyfriend, to whom I delegate the task of lugging boxes of decorations from storage on December first every year.) It’s just that I don’t want to be rushing madly during the advent season. No, I want to curl up and sip mead, make gingerbread cookies, listen to carols, and admire twinkly lights without stressing out over making the holidays “bigger and better” than last year.

As I journey through life, I notice that all my needs and most of my desires are met. This is also true of my friends and family. So Thoreau’s wisdom, “Simplify, simplify” has been on my mind. I don’t want to stop giving gifts, because I derive pleasure from that. Yet I want to give something of value that will improve life. This is why I’ve spent the afternoon savoring two catalogs I received in today’s mail: one from Heifer International and another from the Seva Foundation.

Heifer International provides animals to impoverished families throughout the world to help them receive better nutrition and improve economic power by selling the products (e.g. eggs, wool) the animals produce. In addition, people are trained in how to breed and care for their animals so they can contribute to their local economy. A gift of ducks and geese costs as little as $20. $500 will buy a heifer. And $5,000 will purchase an Ark (two of every animal provided through the organization, to assist up to 30 families). Or, if you can’t afford the entire cost, you can purchase a “share” of an animal.

The Seva Foundation provides gifts of service to impoverished areas of Asia, Central America, and the Native American community. These include the gifts of sight (funding eye exams and surgery), of literacy education and community development, of providing clean water, and of food programs, such as planting community gardens to increase self-reliance. Gift prices range from $30 to $20,000.

I encourage you to stop by these websites and explore. When it’s time to purchase gifts, you can save money and gas, prevent fossil-fuel pollution, and spare yourself stress by contributing to these programs. Donating money in honor of your loved ones celebrates the gift of life you all enjoy, as well as vastly improves the lives of people who are less economically fortunate.

From the Sunday Herald:

More and more parents in America are naming their children after the most sought-after cars, popular perfumes and expensive drinks. Among the most common were 273 boys and 298 girls called Armani; 269 Chanels (all girls); 24 girls called Porsche and six male Timberlands. Also popular were Nike, Chivas Regal, Champagne, Nivea, Evian, Fanta, Guinness, Camry, Cobra, Pepsi and Lexus. One father called his son Lexxus, insisting on the extra x to make the name “more original”.

“Some parents are clearly naming their children after consumer products they aspire to own but will likely never afford,” said Cleveland Evans, an associate professor of psychology at Bellevue University in Nebraska who has studied the list of names.

“A lawyer is not going to name their child Lexus. Usually they are the ones who like antiques and dig up the old names like Abigail. It is the blue-collar workers who are looking for something modern but ritzy sounding.”

The etymology of names has always been of interest to me. Names historically have derived meaning from personality traits or values (often religious). For example, the root of Kathryn is Greek, and means “pure.” Or Asher, which is Hebrew, and is commonly given to boys — it means “blessed, happy.” (Pursue your own name scavenger hunt at BabyNames.com or many other sites like it.) What does it mean that we are now naming our children after objects marketed to us, items we would like to possess but perhaps cannot afford?

The concept of “children as property” is not new; nor has it been eradicated. In many countries, the plight of children extends beyond the misfortune of being named for a popular commodity. They often are commodities, whether it is being sold into prostitution, or into forced labor under heinous conditions working for bare survival wages. Children’s status as property also comes to light during divorce proceedings, especially during nasty custody disputes.

Just thinking “out loud.” Stirring the pot.