Op-ed: In Indy, an alternative to jail for mental illness and addiction
The city of Indianapolis’ new Assessment and Intervention Center, which will provide a safe place to stay — and an alternative to arrest — for our neighbors with mental health and addiction treatment needs, recently opened to the public. It couldn’t have come at a better time.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated our community's existing mental health and addiction challenges, which are often felt most acutely by vulnerable individuals such as those who are within the criminal justice system or are experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity.
The Assessment and Intervention Center, or AIC, is a cornerstone of the city’s criminal justice reform efforts being implemented at the Community Justice Campus under Mayor Joe Hogsett’s leadership.
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The AIC is an opportunity to shift away from ineffective punitive measures and invest in a public health approach to some of the most challenging chronic needs in our community.
Its goal is to divert low-level offenders before they are arrested and enter the criminal justice system, and provide connection to a variety of community resources that can address the long-term needs that people have, such as housing or mental health and addiction treatment.
The AIC receives referrals 24/7 and will provide short-term housing, medical management of uncomplicated alcohol and opioid withdrawal, medical and mental health screenings, and referral to community resources appropriate to meet an individual’s long-term needs. Staff will work daily with the residents to engage in goal-development and skill-building.
Participation at the AIC is voluntary. The AIC is not an inpatient facility and will assist in transferring individuals who are medically unstable or experiencing a severe mental health crisis to an appropriate hospital.
Such services are needed now more than ever. Indiana’s Division of Mental Health and Addiction reports startling increases in a variety of crisis resources this year: 70% statewide increase in emergency department visits for self-harm and suicidal ideation, 80% increase in suicide hotline calls, 120% increase in crisis textline texts and a 430% increase in domestic violence calls.
While overdose deaths were declining in Indiana in 2019, emergency departments are seeing a nearly 80% rise this year, according to Indiana's executive director for drug prevention, treatment and enforcement.
Within the Marion County jail, estimates prior to COVID are that up to 40% suffer from mental illness and up to 85% are battling addiction. The Indiana Department of Corrections recently announced it would provide the opioid overdose reversal agent naloxone to all offenders upon release from an IDOC facility to address these growing concerns.
A status quo where the criminal justice system becomes the default service provider for individuals with complex needs that are unmet by that system is both costly and unjust.
The goal of the AIC is to provide people an opportunity for support prior to further engagement with the criminal justice system, resulting in two significant benefits.
First, it will give many of our neighbors who are experiencing complex psychosocial needs a better chance to address those needs, rather than being processed in and out of a criminal justice system that was never designed to provide social services. Second, it will free up IMPD time and criminal justice resources to focus more intently on the challenges they were designed to address: crime that threatens public safety.
This facility builds on a first-of-its-kind approach piloted by the Reuben Engagement Center starting in 2017. The Reuben Engagement Center, whose operations will integrate into the new AIC, was designed to focus particularly on the needs of our homeless neighbors.
We believe the AIC, with its brand-new facility, its increased focus on mental health assessment, and its connectivity with both the criminal justice and public health resources, can become a model for criminal justice reform efforts in our state and across the country to address rising mental health and substance abuse challenges contributing to our jail and prison populations.
The Sandra Eskenazi Mental Health Center, the city’s partner in staffing and operating this innovative, person-focused reform model, stands ready to meet these challenges, deliver treatment and support to those who need it most, and provide a lifeline and path out of the criminal justice system for those struggling in our city.
The AIC opened to the community on Dec. 1. For referrals to the AIC, please contact 317-327-8733.
Dr. Ashley Overley is CEO of the Sandra Eskenazi Mental Health Center.