Smith County SIM Initiative Sees Success in Treating Mentally Ill Inmates, Diverting From Incarceration
Since the beginning of 2023, the Sequential Intercept Mapping (SIM) Initiative has had the goal of helping individuals with mental health issues and/or crises receive the help they need and keep them out of jail.
According to KLTV 7, Chief SIM Officer Keisha Morris says there are misconceptions surrounding the objective of keeping the mentally ill out of jails.
"We're not saying if a person commits a serious crime that they shouldn't be in jail," She said. "When people find themselves in a crisis, you know, they do things they wouldn't normally do if they were stabilized on say medication or weren't in a crisis."
The SIM initiative kept six offenders in Smith County out of jail and instead provided them with needed mental health treatment in 2023.
The initiative also helps current inmates with mental health challenges by providing a jail-based competency restoration program. Counselors and mental healthcare professionals work out of a designated office in the Smith County Jail to offer their services to the inmates in need.
Read More About Smith County's SIM Initiative
Click here to read more about the success of Smith County's SIM initiative and how it's providing the community with strategies to improve the county jail.
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