DON'T BE DUPED (part II) SOLUTIONS

  FOR DECADES WE have been running away from our problems and now have to face them. We have the tools. :

1) Problem: we closed our mental health facilities in the 80's and offered no alternatives. Today, most of the mentally ill who cannot afford private care, wind up in prison where there is no treatment except heavy drugging, 

WE need  to get effective and available treatment in our communities and avoid future incarcerations fo these vulnerable people but we must also treat those that are in prison now. They are funneled into obscene conditions in various forms of solitary confinement ( mostly called RHUs or Restrictive Housing units) BECAUSE they are too ill to be in general population. The WIDOC has no tools to deal humanely with this population and we need to give these tools to them- training , new rules and a treatment center.

THE WIDOC has been here before- A lawsuit mandated the building of a mental health treatment center for the Women's prison in Fond du Lac. Until the present mess, covid and lockdowns, it was working well according to two Former DOC psychologists.

here are some photos of the center from a DOC powerpoint document document:

links to the lawsuit complaint that mandated the center

link to the whole power point, tell of massive rule changes and training 

What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger: Surviving Amidst Mental Health Litigation

FFUP's shortened version

COLORADO SYSTEM_ the model for all of us-

      they have no solitary confinement over 15 days and NO staff shortages.

Rick Raemisch, one of the main architects of colorado's new system now heads a foundation that consults with prison systems around the country on how to facilitate a similar healing.

   Rick raemisch on his night in solitary

    link to falcon organization web

    Article comparing CO and WI i 2016.

SECOND PIECE OF WHAT WE NEED:REDUCTION OF POPULATION

graph on population rise

Details on folks that need to be released: 

CA bill that lead to prison population reduction - factors most important were NO MENTAL  HEALTH TREATMENT and NO GENERAL TREATMENT

     CA BILL/ shortened/TREATMENT  /RAEMISH  MY NIGHT/

 OUR TAKE ON THE LOCKDOWNS AND STAFF SHORTAGES

(I. e. WISCONSINITES !!   DON’T BE DUPED ( PART 1)

 

ARE YOU AWARE THAT WE TAX PAYERS GIVE OUR PRISON SYSTEM TWICE THE AMOUNT OF MONEY WE GIVE OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS

1.  Wisconsin Department of Corrections (WIDOC) gets 5.1 billion dollars from the years 2023 till 2025 

2. Don't your children deserve better from your elected officials?

3 Many students come from poverty conditions and there is only 120.32 million allocated for Nutritious meal programs.

4.235,8 Million is allocated for mental health programs.

5 10 million over 2 years for the public library system

 

AND LOOK AT WHO YOU ARE INCARCERATING ? Most will return to you in much worse mental and physical condition that when they went in.

2. 22.4% of inmates are incarcerated for Drug Charges.

3. 9.8% of inmates are incarcerated for OWI Offenses,

4.A Whopping 32.4%  of inmates are incarcerated for rule violations and no new charges..

6. Sad fact is the court sent inmates to Receive Treatment to return to Society as Productive Citizens. WI DOC  does not Honor Court’s mandate to give inmates treatment.

 

THE PRISON STAFF IS Walking out because people need meaningful work.

 

ARE YOU AWARE THAT THE WIDOC IS WAREHOUSING most PEOPLE ONLY- that there are few programs and it has been that way for a very long time?

        A)The focus is on punishment and the strategy is to keep you, the public, in constant fear of your prisoners while holding prisoners until they can no longer legally keep them.  

       B) There are some good programs as you get to minimum security prisons but many prisoners never get there or spend decades in Maximums before they get there. They call most their days “Dead time”.

C)  Between 40 and 70 percent of the prison population should not be there- They have been eligible for parole for decades ( old law prisoners,most convicted before 2000) , are mentally ill,  are there because they were revoked for rule violations or have obscenely long sentences mandated by the seriously flawed truth in sentencing laws.

 

The “Fights  and disruptions” that the WIDOC claims are the Cause of the lockdowns are instead CAUSED by intolerable prison conditions. culminating in the lockdowns. 

The most recent spate of fights and the stabbing were over the phones-

prisoners main source of hope and caring is their families and some of these people have not spoke to their loved ones in months- The phone system is poorly run , causing disputes over who gets to call.

 

 This is a total misuse of your tax dollars. Please reach out to your legislators and demand they allocate more for your children and less for Corrections and ensure prison population is slashed, and that there is real  drug alcohol and treatment outside the prison system and outdated prisons that drain the taxpayers’ resources are closed.  Most important :Until we as a society, start to deal effectively with the mental health and addiction crisis in our country, we also need a mental health treatment center within the system, for today, that is where most of our mentally ill are ending up           

The statistics above were gleaned from government websites  by a member of the group FOR A SECOND CHANCE. We meet by phone weekly and are a group of activists, advocates, families and friends of prisoners dedicated to  restoring balance and justice to our “Just -us” system.  We hope you can join us. For more information contact:

Peg Swan: pgswan3@aol.com  (  or write 29631 Wild Rose Drive, Blue River, WI 53518 OR leave a message at 608-536-3993);

Tony Zilstra: timothy.zylstra@yahoo.com

Kandis Volaske kandis.voelske@gmail.com

Rob Slamkabob slamkabob@gmail.com

Websites: www.prisonforum.org and www.secondchancewi.orThe statistics above were dayof prisoners dedicated to  restoring balance and justice to our “Just -us” system.  We hope you can join us. For more information contact:

 

Next; Our take on lockdowns an staff shortages/Don’t be Duped (Part II)

SOLUTIONS