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Courting success
By Alexander Rich, Staff Writer
Sunday, April 26, 2009 | 2 comment(s)
Courtrooms can be intimidating. The defendant often finds himself handcuffed and dressed in jail garb. The judge presides from an elevated platform. Hearings often move briskly, and the focus is on guilt versus innocence.
Judge Paula Bechtold’s chambers have a much different feel on the first Thursday afternoon of each month.
The room holds about 15 people, dressed in ordinary clothes, chatting amiably. Case workers and attorneys surround the defendants, readily offering encouragement.
Even the judge behaves differently. She frequently smiles. She even steps down from the bench for conversations.
Welcome to Mental Health Court. It’s an alternative system designed to ease the burden on police and health agencies. Almost three years after its creation, court participants say it’s working.
Police are generally well-acquainted with this court’s defendants. They’ve been arrested for disorderly conduct or criminal trespassing, but the charges weren’t severe enough to keep them in jail. Soon they were back out on the street, committing the same crimes again.
“The police knew this wasn’t a good way to do it,” Bechtold said.
To stop the revolving door, the district attorney’s office screens people for mental health problems. A defendant who agrees to join the program is assigned a caseworker. Every month, defendants go before Bechtold to let her know how things are going.
If defendants don’t follow the rules, they can get put back into the criminal justice system. That rarely happens.
The program has had five graduates since being established in May 2006. None have re-offended. Those still in the program are behaving themselves.
Roy Wright, director of Coos County Community Corrections, said he has seen people who haven’t responded to other treatments get better with this program.
“One fellow, we just couldn’t seem to touch him,” he said. “Now he’s able to live independently.”
Bechtold recalls one man who was so withdrawn, he didn’t want to attend court. He finally showed up in pajamas. Today, he’s helping coach a basketball team.
Another defendant has been clean, sober and out of trouble for the longest period of his adult life.
North Bend police have seen the crime rate drop, simply because one man is taking his medicine and no longer stealing things, Wright said.
“We really have been successful,” Bechtold said. “I’ve really been amazed at how some have been able to turn around their lives.”
Those involved appreciate the chance. They describe people who work with them as their best friends.
Having someone to talk with about problems makes a difference to 36-year-old Lovena Gage. She was arrested after buying alcohol for a teenage party at her home. After initially struggling with the program’s rules, she’s pleased to have people say they are proud of her behavior.
“They say, ‘You’ve grown so much,’” she said.
Most of the people in the program have drug and alcohol problems along with mental health issues, Bechtold said. Jail doesn’t help those problems. Nor does it help the clients stay on their medicine.
“The idea is to correct the mistake instead of dwelling on it,” said Diane Boyce, a mental health worker involved in the program.
Boyce checks on clients to make sure they are taking their medicine, and she advises them on how to avoid confrontations. She also helps find housing, so they can have stable environments to deal with their issues.
Coos County District Attorney R. Paul Frasier said the program has helped reduce his office’s caseload.
“It’s a program we want people to get into who are truly mentally ill who could benefit from it,” he said.
Gage says she has learned how to communicate with others. She can’t imagine life without the court.
“It’s been a blessing,” she said. “I’ve made a lot of friends and I’m keeping out of trouble.”
Judge Paula Bechtold’s chambers have a much different feel on the first Thursday afternoon of each month.
The room holds about 15 people, dressed in ordinary clothes, chatting amiably. Case workers and attorneys surround the defendants, readily offering encouragement.
Even the judge behaves differently. She frequently smiles. She even steps down from the bench for conversations.
Welcome to Mental Health Court. It’s an alternative system designed to ease the burden on police and health agencies. Almost three years after its creation, court participants say it’s working.
Police are generally well-acquainted with this court’s defendants. They’ve been arrested for disorderly conduct or criminal trespassing, but the charges weren’t severe enough to keep them in jail. Soon they were back out on the street, committing the same crimes again.
“The police knew this wasn’t a good way to do it,” Bechtold said.
To stop the revolving door, the district attorney’s office screens people for mental health problems. A defendant who agrees to join the program is assigned a caseworker. Every month, defendants go before Bechtold to let her know how things are going.
If defendants don’t follow the rules, they can get put back into the criminal justice system. That rarely happens.
The program has had five graduates since being established in May 2006. None have re-offended. Those still in the program are behaving themselves.
Roy Wright, director of Coos County Community Corrections, said he has seen people who haven’t responded to other treatments get better with this program.
“One fellow, we just couldn’t seem to touch him,” he said. “Now he’s able to live independently.”
Bechtold recalls one man who was so withdrawn, he didn’t want to attend court. He finally showed up in pajamas. Today, he’s helping coach a basketball team.
Another defendant has been clean, sober and out of trouble for the longest period of his adult life.
North Bend police have seen the crime rate drop, simply because one man is taking his medicine and no longer stealing things, Wright said.
“We really have been successful,” Bechtold said. “I’ve really been amazed at how some have been able to turn around their lives.”
Those involved appreciate the chance. They describe people who work with them as their best friends.
Having someone to talk with about problems makes a difference to 36-year-old Lovena Gage. She was arrested after buying alcohol for a teenage party at her home. After initially struggling with the program’s rules, she’s pleased to have people say they are proud of her behavior.
“They say, ‘You’ve grown so much,’” she said.
Most of the people in the program have drug and alcohol problems along with mental health issues, Bechtold said. Jail doesn’t help those problems. Nor does it help the clients stay on their medicine.
“The idea is to correct the mistake instead of dwelling on it,” said Diane Boyce, a mental health worker involved in the program.
Boyce checks on clients to make sure they are taking their medicine, and she advises them on how to avoid confrontations. She also helps find housing, so they can have stable environments to deal with their issues.
Coos County District Attorney R. Paul Frasier said the program has helped reduce his office’s caseload.
“It’s a program we want people to get into who are truly mentally ill who could benefit from it,” he said.
Gage says she has learned how to communicate with others. She can’t imagine life without the court.
“It’s been a blessing,” she said. “I’ve made a lot of friends and I’m keeping out of trouble.”
Client: ‘They work with you here’
The Mental Health Court soon will add Stanley Hitner-Clary to its list of graduates.
The 21-year-old North Bend man has been in the program for 16 months and hopes to finish in July.
Hitner-Clary was jailed on a fourth-degree assault charge after getting into an argument with his girlfriend. Rather than prosecute him, the district attorney’s office determined he should go to Mental Health Court.
He said he suffers from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and he hadn’t always taken his medication before his arrest. But now he takes it religiously and enjoys attending Mental Health Court.
“They work with you here,” he said. “I have problems learning and if I don’t understand something, they will sit with me and help me.”
Crisis puts program at risk
Although Mental Health Court has shown success, it’s among the many programs at risk in the state budget crisis.
Judge Paula Bechtold said the state court system is looking at cutting extraneous programs. Mental Health Court costs almost nothing, but it could be cut “just because it’s an extra,” she said.
Diane Boyce, a mental health worker involved in the program, can’t imagine that happening. She says her charges wouldn’t get the help they need in the criminal justice system.
“I see them watch each other,” at the monthly hearings, she said. “I think they learn from watching each other.”
The Mental Health Court soon will add Stanley Hitner-Clary to its list of graduates.
The 21-year-old North Bend man has been in the program for 16 months and hopes to finish in July.
Hitner-Clary was jailed on a fourth-degree assault charge after getting into an argument with his girlfriend. Rather than prosecute him, the district attorney’s office determined he should go to Mental Health Court.
He said he suffers from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and he hadn’t always taken his medication before his arrest. But now he takes it religiously and enjoys attending Mental Health Court.
“They work with you here,” he said. “I have problems learning and if I don’t understand something, they will sit with me and help me.”
Crisis puts program at risk
Although Mental Health Court has shown success, it’s among the many programs at risk in the state budget crisis.
Judge Paula Bechtold said the state court system is looking at cutting extraneous programs. Mental Health Court costs almost nothing, but it could be cut “just because it’s an extra,” she said.
Diane Boyce, a mental health worker involved in the program, can’t imagine that happening. She says her charges wouldn’t get the help they need in the criminal justice system.
“I see them watch each other,” at the monthly hearings, she said. “I think they learn from watching each other.”
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