At age 19, I was arrested in Baltimore County for breaking a window, the kind of reckless behavior that only an errant teenager could justify. Soon after, I was taken to the police station, charged with criminal damage, fingerprinted, and a warrant issued for my arrest. I spent the night crammed into a large cell on a concrete floor with grown men waiting to see the medical examiner. I remember the room smelling of old tennis shoes, bad breath, and sweat. I was in a situation that was out of my control, overwhelmed, broken, and exhausted. I just wanted to bail and go home.
At approximately 2:00 AM, I witnessed one of the most terrifying events of my youth. The disturbing event occurred amid the loud snoring of an older man who had been arrested for DUI, driving with a suspended license, and violating a court-ordered separation order. Inside our large cell was a bathroom hidden by a curtain. Suddenly, I was awakened by the sight of a man's legs thrashing about in the darkness of the night on the other side of the curtain, attempting to hang himself. I could hear the sound of a human voice desperately struggling to breathe. Several men in the cell quickly sprang into action and rescued the man from his suicide attempt.
Even decades after this incident, it still makes me sick to my stomach just thinking about it. Traumatic events are memorable and can trigger us in ways we don't understand. What one person can mentally endure may be different than another, and that's okay because we're all different. However, access to mental health services should be universal, including mental health treatment and counseling for people in prison.
Putting more licensed clinical social workers in Maryland prisons could make all the difference, ensuring more men and women get the help and support they need to heal and be in a better position to succeed in life when they are released. According to the Prison Policy Initiative, Maryland releases approximately 86,000 men and women from prisons and jails into communities across the state each year.
While many of our communities are still evolving from decades of structural racism and broken systems that haven’t served us, they’re getting help from the most unlikely people. From Edmondson Village to Mondawmin, Cherry Hill to Brooklyn, former gang members are helping to end violence. Former drug lords are now selling “hope” and “peace” to people on the streets, not poison in plastic bags. Students who once flunked their classes are no longer content with courthouse cleaner jobs. Instead, they’re studying hard to become judges, lawyers, and district attorneys, hoping to one day administer justice in a courtroom. Our entire state is evolving, and conservatives are feeling anxious as Gen Z takes hold. Wind energy, tech hubs, and coding are subjects they study hard for because they’re big-minded and smart. The marginalized, the poor, and the immigrants are no longer content with business as usual. They want opportunity. But while we address social issues, we must also be mindful of how unresolved trauma and post-traumatic stress negatively impact our communities, including those incarcerated.
Bayard Rustin, the famous social justice advocate, once said, “We can be outraged by injustice, but we must not be destroyed by it.” Today, we have an opportunity to further reform our prison system. It is also an opportunity to dismantle the artificial constructs surrounding mental health issues and have a greater impact on prison recidivism rates.
According to a study published in BMC Psychology, “prison environments can be inherently negative for mental health due to disconnection from family, community, and social supports, loss of independence, diminished meaning and purpose in life, fear of victimization, increased boredom, unpredictability of surroundings, overcrowding, and punitive nature.” Additionally, the Center for American Progress states that recidivism negatively impacts the economy in multiple ways, including a lower GDP. If we are serious about developing stronger citizens, we need to add more qualified clinical social workers to prison environments.
Kevin Shird ([email protected]) is the author of A Life for a Life: Poor Choices and Unresolved Trauma Is Killing America.
