Good morning!

We’ve all been preoccupied with the situation happening in Ukraine. We pray for the Ukrainian people, and all of those who are caught in a tragic and unfortunate position, and hope that the war comes to an end swiftly 🔵🟡

Today’s question: We’re going international. This social worker, born in Poland, helped thousands of Jews who were displaced by the German invasion. After a ghetto had been created by the displacement of nearly 400,000 Jews, she helped with hygienic conditions in the area, advocated with Jewish organizations, and helped smuggled Jews find stable and secure housing.

News

Mental health in prisons

In 2015, Oregon’s prison system was locking mentally ill prisoners in their cells for 23 hours a day. In January 2021, after investigations and outside intervention, a report found that Oregon still locked some mentally ill prisoners alone in their cells for 21 hours a day. That’s just shy of the U.N.’s definition of torture, which is 22 hours a day of solitary confinement.

Prisons are incubation chambers for mental illness (I wonder why?) 🤔

First and foremost, they severely restrict an incarcerated person’s ability to receive proper mental health services. For example, some mentally ill prisoners are only allowed one 15- to 30-minute session with a mental health care worker every 30-60 days. Furthermore, prisons are dehumanizing and isolating environments filled with noise and other detrimental factors.

All of this contributes to a brutal system that takes people in, gobbles up taxes, and spits prisoners back out into society worse off than when they got in. And perhaps more unfortunate is the fuel for this system — a widespread belief that prison must be a punishing experience as opposed to a rehabilitative one.

Other social work-related news

• Disability Rights Mississippi, a nonprofit organization, dukes it out with the Mississippi Department of Mental Health, who have denied access to information

• Coercive control: Abuse doesn’t have to be physical

• What is moral injury?

• The inefficiency of housing those who are homeless in SF 🚫🏠

Policy

Pressure in Washington

Lawmakers in Washington have a lot of work on their plate this year in regards to mental health policy.

First, Congress has until March to extend a restriction on fentanyl-related substances. More specifically, Congress must act to make Fentanyl a permanent Schedule 1 substance. A Schedule 1 substance means that it has no current medical use and a high potential for abuse. The drug is currently under a temporary Schedule 1 license.

Many other mental health programs must be considered or reauthorized, including grants for community mental health services, funding for school mental health, and grants for suicide prevention and awareness programs.

Other reads on policy

• Connecticut lawmakers unveiled a bill that would enable licensing reforms such as license reciprocity and scholarships for licensure

Research

Mental health and dementia

Mental illness may be a risk factor for dementia.

In the past, studies have found that specific mental health diagnoses such as depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder may be linked to dementia. This link may be caused by poor health behaviors, low childhood IQ, and social isolation, among other factors.

A recent study sought to better understand this relationship by examining data that held unidentified information on 1.7 million Kiwis (the term for people from New Zealand). In a nutshell, the study found that those with mental disorders were at elevated risk of dementia, and dementia that begins at a younger age.

Other reads on research

• Days of extreme heat were associated with higher rates of mental
  health-related ED visits

• Microdosing may be safe, but doesn’t seem to have any positive effects

• Researchers found that transgender and gender diverse students self-reported trading sex at a rate five times higher than cisgender students.

Book Recommendations

• Latinx in Social Work

Answer: Irena Sendler

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