Prison Stories
Broken Things
The abuse of prescription drugs in prison is exacerbating the mental health crisis
Everywhere I step, I have to watch for the brokenness. Who knew that shattered people and shattered glass had so much in common? You can see right through them. They’re both jagged around the edges and will more than likely cut you if you’re not careful. Sometimes you see a rainbow in them, and they are broken in such a beautiful way that you want to keep them.
I saved someone today on the mental health hall. A girl was waiting to see the psychologist and said that she was going to try to get all the mental health pills she could so she could stay high until she was released. She had thin, oily hair and a face full of adult acne and looked as if she weighed 90 pounds soaking wet. She obviously had a drug problem. And by the looks of her melted teeth, meth was her drug of choice. My heart broke for her. She was so young and didn’t know she was about to trade one addiction for another. I convinced her not to abuse the mental health system by getting pills she really didn’t need. Too often, the prison systems fails to take a holistic approach to the mental health needs of those incarcerated, but she shouldn’t take advantage of their neglect. Realistically, she needed a good therapist. She needed some…
