Payne County Jail prioritizes the mental health of inmates

A box full of thank you cards sits on Capt.’s desk. Reese Lane is getting more crowded as time goes on.

Throughout his career, the Payne County Jail warden has watched inmates struggle with mental illness, fail to show the ability to stand trial and return to prison, struggling without adequate resources to be help. But Lane didn’t sit back and watch. He made it his mission to improve access to mental health in the county jail, giving several families of inmates hope for the return of their sons and daughters.

A series of letters are thanks from prisoners or families who changed their lives.

“Everybody has a story,” said Lane. “Thousands will break your heart. You get to know them, and you hear those stories, and that changes the way you think and feel.”

Lane says he is watching the story repeat itself. A person who has committed a criminal act during an episode of insanity is imprisoned, where their mental health is reduced. Without the right tools, those inmates can’t stand trial and prove they’re competent, turning a long prison stay into a long one.

If inmates cannot prove they are competent at trial, they are sent to the Oklahoma Forensic Center in Vinita, where they receive psychiatric treatment.

The issue of mental health is not limited to Payne County. Oklahoma ranks fifth in the nation for rates of mental illness, meaning between 700,000 adults and 950,000 Oklahomans need services, according to the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.

Lane said this is difficult. A flawed mental health system began to burden county jails with cases beyond their capacity. But Lane accepted the truth and said he was determined to find a way to help mentally ill inmates.

With the support of Sheriff Joe Harper, local and state government and mental health professionals, the Payne County Jail began investing in programs aimed at helping inmates struggling with mental health and substance abuse. of drugs. Lane, with the help of Payne County Commissioner Zach Cavett, applied for help from the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. The prison received $256,769 from the state’s SQ781 fund dedicated to providing substance abuse and mental health services.

For the past year, the jail has been working with GRAND Mental Health to provide services to inmates in the county jail and to provide them with services after they are released.

“We have a passion for it, and we have leaders who support us,” Lane said. “If the Sheriff’s mindset was that I’m getting paid to take them off the streets and put them in jail because that’s where they belong, this job wouldn’t be happening.”

Prison inmates have access to a doctor, Sarah Strader; psychologist Linda Evans, who works with TurnKey, a prison medical provider; care coordinator at GROVE, Lindsay Oynsey. Oynsey meets with inmates several times a week for rehabilitation skills sessions. He walks them through what they are accused of, who is talking about them and why they are talking about them. Meeting with Oynsey is not mandatory, but he said that after explaining the positive results of the meetings, the prisoners chose to do it.

“Sometimes they refuse and want to go back to their cell, but we keep working,” Oynsey said. I try to see them early in the morning, but sometimes the medicine may not arrive. So I don’t forgive them for that. I try again the next day. And sometimes there’s a big difference in how they respond and how they feel.”

Lane said three out of four inmates who go through restitution are released after their trial. After each letter of appreciation or success story, Lane says he is reassured that he and the team are headed in the right direction.

Evans and Lane have worked together for more than 10 years. The couple said they have suffered for years when the people they helped were unable to continue their treatment outside of prison for various reasons. But they also offered help when others came to them and asked how they could seek help.

Evans said: “There are people who were scared and people who were angry with a lot of mentally ill people, we’re angry with them because they did something stupid. “They’re not evil. They’re not actually criminals, they’re not against the people, they are just sick.”

news.ed@ocolly.com