GOD CAN MAKE A WAY OUT OF NO WAY
Nonprofit Organization
A Support Group for Parents with Incarcerated Adult Children
Our acronym is M.I.S.S. but we do not exclude incarcerated daughters.
"Where there is no vision…the people perish."
Solitary confinement is unproductive. The lack of social simulation is harmful regardless of the inmate’s mental status, and studies have shown that isolation can have psychological implications. The mentally disabled are extremely vulnerable to this type of punishment. It can actually exacerbate their already fragile mental condition; they should not be dehumanized because of their illness. They are human beings! How did this country reverse back to the barbaric abuses and neglects that were once denounced? It was those neglectful practices, such as isolation, that partially lead to the outcry for de-institutionalization. We feel that solitary confinement constitutes “cruel and unusual punishment," which is prohibited in the eighth amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
In addition, when the mentally ill are released from prison, they do not have adequate housing. Thus, they wander the streets, break into abandoned buildings for shelter, are taken advantage of, and use illegal drugs to self-medicate. Finding housing is always difficult for ex-offenders, but the challenge is even more acute for the mentally ill. "For the severely mentally ill, there is virtually no facility designed for long-term inpatient care," says Sherri Sullivan, director of Bridgeview Manor, the only residential treatment center in Ohio that accepts the indigent mentally ill. "If they exist, they exist as a group home, and most group homes don't offer treatment."
If you have a son or daughter incarcerated and would like to join our community, sign-up today. We are stronger together!
Rhonda Robinson,
M.I.S.S. Founder
“Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.” — Nelson Mandela
Behind Bars, Mentally Ill Inmates Are Often Punished for Their Symptoms
Click the following to read the article: NPR
Minnesota Department of Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell takes a tour with the media of Stillwater Correctional Facility in January of 2019. Should people with mental illness be in prison?