Our Stories Matter: Experiences with the State Hospital System
The number of state hospital beds in the United States has recently reached a historic low. This shortage of beds has tangible impacts on the lives and well-being of people with severe mental illness (SMI) and their families. In this paper, we share the stories of eight family members and one person with lived experience in the state hospital system; these stories span across seven different states: California, Florida, Iowa, Maryland, New Jersey, Oregon, and Washington.
While these stories clearly indicate the need for more state hospital beds, there is equally compelling evidence that quality of care needs improvement throughout the system. If we are to provide necessary care to people with SMI for whom other treatment has failed, it is also important to address and correct quality of care issues without resorting to the wholesale closure of the few state hospitals that remain. Criminalization of mental illness can be prevented if high-quality, effective care is accessible before a person deteriorates to the point of encountering the criminal system and being placed in a forensic bed.
Key Findings
- People who seek hospital-level care for their mental health find it challenging to access a state hospital bed until they have been charged or convicted of a crime.
- People who have been charged with crimes suffer in jail for months or even years for beds in the state hospital to become available.
- Even after being admitted to a state hospital, care can be fraught with safety concerns or barely resembles hospital-level care.