GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The Kent County Sheriff’s Office has reopened its mental health unit within the correctional facility after months of renovating and expanding its current space. The pod provides mental health services and programs for women to help them during and after incarceration.
“This pod expansion has been a long time in the making,” chief deputy Lyndsie Cole said.
On the other side of 701 Ball Avenue NE, newly painted murals adorn the walls, dedicated to the women inside the Kent County Jail. The expansion now provides a new place for women to gather.
“Every inmate that we have in our custody goes through what we call a classification process, and through that process we evaluate what needs they have,” Cole said.
“Our medical and mental health staff determine where they should best be housed, so this is an area where females would be identified as having some sort of mental illness or behavioral concern.”
The sheriff’s office called the reopening a milestone, adding that the mental health unit will focus on therapy, case management and treatment. The goal is to ensure women can successfully get back into the community with the proper resources and services they need.
“The big picture is to always develop that stability for somebody so when they're released back into the community, they have resources identified and they can work through a healthy and happy life,” Kent County Sheriff Michelle LaJoye-Young said.
The department said providing mental health services to incarcerated women can reduce the amount of repeat offenders. A study from the Department of Justice said 64% of inmates in local jails have a mental health concern.
The $500,000 renovation project took a little over five months to complete. Among new and replaced furnishings, trained medical staff will be on hand to provide women with the help they may not receive otherwise.
“It could reduce recidivism if we're able to treat inmates’ root causes, such as getting them back on mental health medication or connecting them with services in the community,” Cole said.
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