(National Stepping Up, Day of Action)…It is Wednesday

. Imperial County is participating to highlight its progress toward reducing the number of people with mental illnesses in the county jail and improving outcomes for the county’s most vulnerable residents. Each year there are an estimated 2 million people with serious mental illnesses admitted to jail across the nation. Almost three quarters of these adults also have drug and alcohol use problems. Once incarcerated, individuals with mental illnesses tend to stay longer in jail and upon release are at a higher risk of returning to incarceration than those without these illnesses. The human toll of this problem, and its costs to taxpayers is staggering. Jails spend two to three times more money on adults with mental illnesses that require intervention than those without theses needs.