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	Podcast:		Us & Them
	Episode:		Us & Them Encore: Mental Health Crisis Behind Bars In West Virginia
	Category:		Society & Culture
	Duration:		00:52:44
	Publish Date:		2024-07-10 16:00:00
	Description:		Overcrowding and understaffing have pushed West Virginia’s prisons and jails to what many believe is a crisis point. On this Us & Them, we hear what incarceration is like for someone in a mental health crisis. Hundreds of thousands of people with mental illnesses are caught up in a criminal justice system that was never intended to treat them. In a recent special session, West Virginia lawmakers earmarked $30 million to address staffing shortages and provide pay raises and retention bonuses to correctional staff. There is also $100 million for deferred facility maintenance. However, a new lawsuit against the state on behalf of West Virginia inmates, demands more than three times that amount is needed.
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