Director of Vera Institute of Justice's Louisiana Will Snowden recently emphasized the need for collaboration among stakeholders in New Orleans to address the city's mental health crisis. According to a report by Vera, Snowden believes the proposed Phase III jail for people with mental health needs presents a crucial decision for the city.
“We are at a tipping point for the mental health crisis in New Orleans," Snowden said in the release. "We can lean forward into the evidence-based best practices of today by building a mental health crisis treatment center based in and serving our community, or we can build the draconian panopticon known as Phase III, a jail for people with acute and sub-acute mental health conditions. Our community, mental health professionals, advocates, lawyers, sheriff, city council, and mayor are all consumed with the fight over how to bring the New Orleans jail into compliance with a federal consent decree over dangerous conditions and inadequate mental health care."
In the release he added: "The crisis our city faces requires earnest collaboration among the City of New Orleans, the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office, the MacArthur Justice Center, and the Department of Justice," stated Snowden, underscoring the importance of collective action.
Snowden presented two distinct options for the city of New Orleans to consider. The first option involves using evidence-based practices and creating a community-based mental health crisis treatment center. Snowden said this approach would be a better way to treat those with serious mental health needs.
Another option is construction of Phase III, which is a jail facility designed for those with acute and sub-acute mental health conditions. Snowden expressed concerns about the suitability of jail environments for those with serious mental health needs.
"Jails are not conducive environments for people with serious mental health needs to receive treatment," Snowden said.
Snowden also discussed the high costs of the Phase III project, which has a price of $114 million. This facility will provide only 90 beds in 56 cells, which comes to $2 million per cell. The cost raises questions about the allocation of resources and potential effectiveness of the proposed facility, Snowden noted.
Snowden proposed a collaborative approach to address these issues.
"The MacArthur Justice Center, the Department of Justice, the City of New Orleans, and the Sheriff's office can build a compliance plan together," Snowden said.
He also suggested making adjustments to existing jail facilities while supporting the creation of a community-based inpatient mental health crisis center at the same time.
Snowden acknowledged that the escalating mental health crisis in New Orleans can be effectively address through preventative and accessible community based treatment instead of relying on incarceration as a solution.
"We can only truly address our escalating mental health crisis with preventative and accessible community-based treatment, not incarceration," he declared.
