Approximately 20% of inmates have a serious mental illness.

There are 10x more mentally-ill inmates in jail than in state hospitals across the country. There are more mentally-ill individuals in the Los Angeles County Jail than in any psychiatric hospital in the United States. The average stay for mentally-ill inmates in jail is longer than for non–mentally-ill inmates…

…and they are more likely to commit suicide.

People with mental illnesses are overrepresented in American jails, according to the National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health. Our jails have replaced hospitals as the primary facility for the mentally ill, and the result is catastrophic. One of the results of this systematic shortcoming is extremely high rates of recidivism.

The Santa Barbara County Sherriff’s Department reports that those experiencing a co-occurring mental health and substance use disorder have an approximate 99% recidivism rate.

Why Recidivism Happens

Over 600,000 individuals are released from prison annually. Three-quarters of them are rearrested within five years of their release.

When prisoners emerge from correctional facilities they typically receive minimal preparation and inadequate assistance and resources, which makes their re-entry into society challenging. These difficulties can be anything from re-entering the workforce, finding affordable housing and barriers in accessing public assistance.

The costs of unsuccessful re-entry and reincarceration negatively impacts communities, families and individuals. So, how former prisoners re-enter their communities—whether it’s successfully, as a contributing member of society, or unsuccessfully—is extremely important.

There are a range of biological and social factors that can increase the rate of relapse and recidivism. Individuals with mental illness and substance use disorders are highly at risk because their symptoms translate to broken laws, for example:

• Addicts tend to have drugs on them
• Trespassing occurs amongst disorientated or disorganized mentally ill
• An episode or breakdown can result in disrupting the peace charges
• Making a false 911 call because of hallucinations is a felony offense

It’s important to remember that it’s not their own fault, it’s the illness and the debilitating symptoms.

Sanctuary’s Project BRACE TM

To help the successful reintegration of inmates from the Santa Barbara County Jail, Sanctuary Centers founded Project BRACE TM, Breaking Recidivism And Creating Empowerment, in 2015.

Over time, it became clear that there are many individuals released into our community that are suffering from serious mental illness. These populations need reintegration support like therapy and medication coordination—which is not easy.

Project BRACE TM creates a bridge between jail and the community, with the goal of managing risks that contribute to reoffending and ensuring former prisoners are successful in our community. It creates a warm handoff between incarceration and release, which is so helpful in breaking the cycle of recidivism.

And the best part: There are no costs associated with this program for the inmates!

One Step Further

The Probation Resource and Reporting Center (PRRC) is based on the idea that these individuals need support when they’re released from jail and expected to report to probation.

Founded in July 2020 to ease this challenge, Sanctuary goes to the County Probation Department once a week to provide services to these populations. In coordination with Santa Barbara County and AmeriCorps, Sanctuary provides psychiatry to individuals on probation and helps them secure housing.

We meet with clients who have serious mental illness and higher rates of recidivism. Using many tools and analytic methods we work to help predict violent behaviors, individual flight risks, and more to coordinate additional supervision needs.

For example, if someone who was recently released from jail needs additional support and supervision, our PRRC steps in. The program helps clients manage skills independently in order to reintegrate into the community. This is just one step of Sanctuary’s care coordination.

To continue this collaboration, we review referrals, contracts, and treatment processes with County Probation every year. Medi-Cal covers treatment and additional services we provide to probation clients. We help with client outreach and case management, and Probation helps make sure people show up to our meetings!

This puts Sanctuary in a position to provide more outreach and assistance in the community.

Sanctuary’s Successes

We are already seeing success just six months into the new PRRC program.

Many referrals are coming in from the County, which indicates a pronounced need and interest in the program. The clients we serve have not received any new charges on their probation term, which is our ultimate goal. Not breaking the law, staying on their prescribed medications and diminishing symptoms are three ways we track this success—and we’re happy to report the process is rolling along.

Our clients are responding well. One former inmate has had so much success that he’s asking for more therapy! Others are settling in well, happy to have someone to talk to and listen to. The continued focus is how to stay out of trouble, and everyone is very receptive.

Everyone wants to live independently, to make decisions for themselves, to have a life free from looking over their shoulder. The PRRC program has helped establish a clear route for independent recovery for many former inmates, and will continue to help our community for years to come!

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For more information on Sanctuary’s Project BRACE TM, follow this link or call 805-569-2785. We are here for you.