Jails...Americas New Asylums

The video “The New Asylums” clearly depicted a serious failure in today’s American society. Poverty dooms the indigent mentally ill to a life of incarceration, since prison is the only place they can receive mental health care. The astronomical fees of private treatment facilities make it impossible for most Americans to afford this type of care. It seems we have an “out of sight-out of mind” attitude. The lack of government funding for public mental health programs indicates our miniscule regard for the mentally ill.

I felt a sense of shame as I watched the video. How can we deem it acceptable to treat our fellow Americans with so little regard? Our society places much more importance on material possessions than on the lives of some human beings. How we spend our money shows our values.  The answer to the dilemma of America’s mentally ill is not an easy one. We must develop a whole new system of care for the mentally ill, but before this can happen, our country’s values have got to change.  We must want to help people more than we want to buy ourselves new things. Media coverage of the issue is essential, and getting funding for programs is paramount.  Someone has to be the voice for these people who are unable to speak for themselves, the question is, Who?