“I'm Not Sure That I Can Figure Out How to Do That”: Pursuit of Work Among People with Mental Illnesses Leaving Jail

Abstract

Restoring people with mental illnesses to community life after detention in jail is fraught with significant challenges. Many of these challenges mirror those faced by anyone else who has been detained in jail. Among these are the particular challenge of seeking gainful employment and financial support for day-to-day life. This challenge is intensified when individuals return from jail to impoverished communities where employment prospects are already limited for residents, and where either a criminal record or a mental illness creates still additional barriers to work. To understand these barriers more fully, this study examined the process of seeking employment among people with mental illnesses leaving jail. Seventeen individuals with a history of mental health problems and with recent jail incarcerations were recruited from either a community based employment program or a mental health service setting. The informants were interviewed using life history interview techniques. Results show that connections to the paid workforce were tenuous at best for these respondents, both before and after their jail detention. While psychiatric symptoms, addiction, and the lack of productive social connections were individual-level factors that affected employment, the most pernicious impediments were rooted in policy, community structures, stigma and other social and economic realities.. If employment interventions are to have any traction at all in these settings, interventionists need to dig for innovative ways to address these factors, which are not complications, but bedrock realities that undergird all else.

Culturally relevant risk and protective factors for nonmedical use of prescription opioids among incarcerated African American men

“…There has been little study on the post-release prescription opioid misuse of African American ex-offenders. Nevertheless, African Americans face numerous barriers post-release, such as finding work and financial stress (Baron, Draine, & Salzer, 2013; Western, Braga, Davis, Sirois, 2015), that are associated with increased likelihood of mental health problems (Mahaffey, Stevens-Watkins, & Leukefeld, 2018). Given the presence of these stressors upon release, it is likely that many African American men experience serious anxiety during community re-entry, thus exacerbating post-release NMUPO outcomes.…”

“…The potential for post-release anxiety to exacerbate NMUPO is critical given the increased risk for overdose in the months following release (Winter et al, 2015). Pre- and post-release interventions aimed at reducing prescription drug misuse should screen for anxiety and provide individuals with skills and resources needed to reduce their anxiety symptoms and cope with re-entry stressors that these men are likely to face upon release (Mahaffey et al, 2018; Baron et al, 2013; Western et al, 2015). …”

“…Overall, there is still much to learn about the risk and protective factors of NMUPO among incarcerated African American men. Given the increased risk for poor drug outcomes and post-release stressors (Rounds-Bryant et al, 2004; Baron et al, 2013; Western et al, 2015), this population deserves much more attention in the literature.…”

Reentry Needs: Men Who Are Young, Hispanic, Older, or With Mental Illness

“…Effectiveness of reentry practices is also a significant concern for individuals released from jails, where sentences—usually for misdemeanors—are shorter and the number of those returning to their communities is even greater, with less attention given to the quality of long‐term services planning (Baron, Draine, & Salzer, ; Carson, ). Although fewer inmates are incarcerated at any given time at the local level (approximately 760,000), the number of people admitted and released annually from jails nationwide (approximately 12 million) far exceeds the number released from state and federal prisons (White, Saunders, Fisher, & Mellow, ).…”

Transformer les valeurs en action

“…En effet, des forces distales beaucoup plus vastes entrent en jeu, soient les causes sociales fondamentales, comme le diraient Link et Phelan. La recherche a montré que bien qu'il y ait des facteurs individuels qui affectent l'emploi, on a constaté que les obstacles les plus pernicieux étaient enracinés dans les préjugés, les politiques gouvernementales qui dissuadent les gens de travailler, la pauvreté et d'autres réalités sociales et économiques (Baron, Draine et Salzer, 2013). Ce sont les causes sociales fondamentales qui forment les réalités servant de pierre d'assise à tout le reste.…”