Policing the Mentally Ill in Los Angeles on the Frontlines of Transinstitutionalization

Author(s):  
Natalie A. Pifer
Keyword(s):  
2021 ◽  
pp. 59-90
Author(s):  
Armando Lara-Millán

This chapter presents the historical transformation of the Los Angeles County jail system in order to explain why medicine has becomes a useful tool for jailers. Jails were successfully pressured into providing expanded healthcare by various legal agencies at the exact same time that they faced unprecedent budget constraint. In response, jails began thinking of their inmates less as violent gang members and more as mentally ill, substance abusers, and less threatening homeless persons. Doing so allowed them to draw in funding from other agencies and to release thousands of inmates. In total this resulted in the mere circulation of inmates between general housing and medicalized space as the key solution to the jail’s fiscal retrenchment and legal demands.


1996 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 219-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Cohen ◽  
Paul Koegel

While epidemiological research has offered much valuable information about substance use among homeless persons in general and homeless mentally ill persons in particular it has lacked information about the context in which substance use occurs, patterns of use, how use influences subsistence adaptation, and factors that mediate its effects. The Adaptation of the Homeless Mentally Ill (AHMI) research was able to address these gaps in our knowledge through long-term ethnographic field work with 50 homeless mentally ill individuals in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles. Most importantly, we found variation in the extent to which alcohol and drug use dominated the lives of sample members. Where some individuals organized their lives completely around the pursuit and use of drugs and alcohol, others were able to precariously balance their substance use with the tasks of meeting their basic needs. We then examine several of the possible factors that shape the relationship between substance use and subsistence adaptation, looking specifically at: (1) Skid Row; (2) psychopathology; (3) institutional affiliations; (4) values and beliefs, and; (5) the role of eventfulness. We conclude by summarizing our findings and their implications for social policy.


Author(s):  
J.S. Geoffroy ◽  
R.P. Becker

The pattern of BSA-Au uptake in vivo by endothelial cells of the venous sinuses (sinusoidal cells) of rat bone marrow has been described previously. BSA-Au conjugates are taken up exclusively in coated pits and vesicles, enter and pass through an “endosomal” compartment comprised of smooth-membraned tubules and vacuoles and cup-like bodies, and subsequently reside in multivesicular and dense bodies. The process is very rapid, with BSA-Au reaching secondary lysosmes one minute after presentation. (Figure 1)In further investigations of this process an isolated limb perfusion method using an artificial blood substitute, Oxypherol-ET (O-ET; Alpha Therapeutics, Los Angeles, CA) was developed. Under nembutal anesthesia, male Sprague-Dawley rats were laparotomized. The left common iliac artery and vein were ligated and the right iliac artery was cannulated via the aorta with a small vein catheter. Pump tubing, preprimed with oxygenated 0-ET at 37°C, was connected to the cannula.


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 1410-1421
Author(s):  
Erica Ellis ◽  
Mary Kubalanza ◽  
Gabriela Simon-Cereijido ◽  
Ashley Munger ◽  
Allison Sidle Fuligni

Purpose To effectively prepare students to engage in interprofessional practice, a number of Communication Disorders (COMD) programs are designing new courses and creating additional opportunities to develop the interprofessional competencies that will support future student success in health and education-related fields. The ECHO (Educational Community Health Outreach) program is one example of how the Rongxiang Xu College of Health and Human Services at California State University, Los Angeles, has begun to create these opportunities. The ultimate goal of the ECHO project is to increase both access to and continuity of oral health care across communities in the greater Los Angeles area. Method We describe this innovative interdisciplinary training program within the context of current interprofessional education models. First, we describe the program and its development. Second, we describe how COMD students benefit from the training program. Third, we examine how students from other disciplines experience benefits related to interprofessional education and COMD. Fourth, we provide reflections and insights from COMD faculty who participated in the project. Conclusions The ECHO program has great potential for continuing to build innovative clinical training opportunities for students with the inclusion of Child and Family Studies, Public Health, Nursing, and Nutrition departments. These partnerships push beyond the norm of disciplines often used in collaborative efforts in Communication Sciences and Disorders. Additionally, the training students received with ECHO incorporates not only interprofessional education but also relevant and important aspects of diversity and inclusion, as well as strengths-based practices.


GeroPsych ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 115-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriele Wilz ◽  
Denise Schinköthe ◽  
Renate Soellner

Introduction: The evaluation of effective interventions is still needed to prevent family caregivers of persons with dementia from becoming physically or mentally ill. However, in most existing intervention studies, primary outcomes are not well matched to the treatment goals. Method: A randomized controlled trial (N = 229) was conducted to compare a treatment group (CBT), a treated control group, and an untreated control group. In theses analyses we focused on the primary outcome measurement (GAS) as a perceived treatment success as well as treatment compliance and participants’ evaluation. Results: Results showed that 30.1% achieved complete goal attainment, 39.8% partial goal attainment, and 24.1% declared no change (overachievement 2.4%; deterioration 3.6%). Discussion: The intervention can be considered to have been successful.


2008 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 219-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Frühe ◽  
Hans-Joachim Röthlein ◽  
Rita Rosner

Traumatische Ereignisse im schulischen Kontext treten vergleichsweise häufig auf. So ist die Bestimmung von Kindern und Jugendlichen, die aktuell und auch zu einem späteren Zeitpunkt einer psychologischen Betreuung bedürfen, im Rahmen der Fürsorgepflicht notwendig. 48 Jugendliche zwischen 12 und 17 Jahren wurden in der Schule zu zwei Messzeitpunkten zur akuten und posttraumatischen Symptomatik sowie zu verschiedenen Risikofaktoren befragt. Verwendet wurde die neu entwickelte Checkliste zur Akuten Belastung (CAB) und die deutsche Version des University of Los Angeles at California Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Reaction Index (UCLA CPTSD-RI). Eine Woche nach dem Ereignis betrug der Anteil klinisch bedeutsamer Belastung 21 % und nach 10 – 15 Wochen 10 %. Ein mittlerer Zusammenhang zwischen akuter und posttraumatischer Belastung konnte nachgewiesen werden. Als bedeutsame Risikofaktoren für die Entwicklung einer posttraumatischen Belastung stellten sich der Konfrontationsgrad, peritraumatisch erlebte Angst sowie akute Beeinträchtigung heraus. Im Kontext der Betreuung betroffener Jugendlicher nach traumatischen Ereignissen sollte den Risikofaktoren mehr Beachtung geschenkt werden.


2000 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 245-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luigi Leonori ◽  
Manuel Muñoz ◽  
Carmelo Vázquez ◽  
José J. Vázquez ◽  
Mary Fe Bravo ◽  
...  

This report concerns the activities developed by the Mental Health and Social Exclusion (MHSE) Network, an initiative supported by the Mental Health Europe (World Federation of Mental Health). We report some data from the preliminary survey done in five capital cities of the European Union (Madrid, Copenhagen, Brussels, Lisbon, and Rome). The main aim of this survey was to investigate, from a mostly qualitative point of view, the causal and supportive factors implicated in the situation of the homeless mentally ill in Europe. The results point out the familial and childhood roots of homelessness, the perceived causes of the situation, the relationships with the support services, and the expectations of future of the homeless mentally ill. The analysis of results has helped to identify the different variables implicated in the social rupture process that influences homelessness in major European cities. The results were used as the basis for the design of a more ambitious current research project about the impact of the medical and psychosocial interventions in the homeless. This project is being developed in 10 capital cities of the European Union with a focus on the program and outcome evaluation of the health and psychosocial services for the disadvantaged.


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