Lowndes County Jail feels weight of mental health crisis

LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – The duties of law enforcement are going beyond the usual as they are often faced with dealing with mental health crises within the community.

Mississippi Today reported that, on average, 25 inmates are sitting in jail waiting for beds to open up at state mental hospitals.

And while that is a temporary solution to get the person off the streets, county jails, and most deputies are not equipped to handle mental health conditions.

The Lowndes County jail has the capacity to hold about 280 inmates. At any given time, they are likely holding people waiting on available space at one of the state’s mental health facilities

Sherriff Eddie Hawkins said that people should be where they can be helped the most.

“There they are getting some form of treatment, they are being evaluated, they are trying to find out what the problem is; here in jail, that is not the case,” Hawkins said.

Instead, Hawkins said the jail has become a waiting center for inmates dealing with real mental health-related crimes.

“Jail, they are sitting here waiting to go to get evaluated and find out what the problem is so that they can get the treatment they need,” Hawkins said.

Hawkins said the crisis is not only in Lowndes County, but all 82 counties across Mississippi, and he and his fellow sheriffs are looking to state officials for answers.

“Until the state steps up and starts doing something about these problems and elevating some of this from jail, it is going to be a problem for us,” Hawkins said.

In the meantime, Community counselor Veronica Harrison said that until places are available, law enforcement should receive specialized training known as Crisis Intervention Training, or CIT.

“Law enforcement is not trained to handle mental disorders; we do have CIT in the area, and we are actually working, and we are working in this area to get CITS started,” Harrison said.

Yet, there is a roadblock for officers to receive this training.

“In the last few years, law enforcement has been seeking to get training, but one of the issues they face is funding for training,” Harrison said.

You are advised to dial 988 if you or someone you know is facing a mental health crisis.

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