The United States houses only five percent of the world’s population but over 20% of its prison population. There has been a dramatic increase in carceral numbers over the last several decades with much of this population being people with mental illness designations. Many scholars attribute this phenomenon to the process of deinstitutionalization, in which mental health institutions in the U.S. were shut down in the 1950s and ‘60s. However, disability scholar Liat Ben-Moshe argues that this is a dangerous oversimplification that fails to credit the deinstitutionalization movement as an abolitionist movement and to take into account shifting demographics between institutions and prisons/jails. This study considers how mass incarceration in the U.S. stems from a trend of isolating and punishing BIPOC and people with disabilities at disproportionate rates as it explores lived experiences at the intersection of mental health and incarceration. Findings inform an abolitionist agenda by highlighting the near impossibility of rehabilitation and treatment in an inherently traumatizing space.

The United States houses only five percent of the world’s population but over 20% of its prison population. There has been a dramatic increase in carceral numbers over the last several decades with much of this population being people with mental illness designations. Many scholars attribute this phenomenon to the process of deinstitutionalization, in which mental health institutions in the U.S. were shut down in the 1950s and ‘60s. However, disability scholar Liat Ben-Moshe argues that this is a dangerous oversimplification that fails to credit the deinstitutionalization movement as an abolitionist movement and to take into account shifting demographics between institutions and prisons/jails. This study considers how mass incarceration in the U.S. stems from a trend of isolating and punishing BIPOC and people with disabilities at disproportionate rates as it explores lived experiences at the intersection of mental health and incarceration. Findings inform an abolitionist agenda by highlighting the near impossibility of rehabilitation and treatment in an inherently traumatizing space.

In the US, underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities receive less than adequate health care in comparison to White Americans. This is attributed to multiple factors, including the long history of structural racism in the US and in the medical field in particular. A factor that is still prevalent today is the lack of diversity within the healthcare workforce. Racial and ethnic minorities are underrepresented in most healthcare occupations. Moreover, many physicians may continue to harbor implicit biases that may interfere with giving adequate care to patients of different backgrounds. We propose that diversity in healthcare should be increased through educational programs and a revamp of existing systems such as medical schools. The increased diversity would mitigate some of the health disparities that exist amongst minorities, as medical professionals are more likely to give adequate care to those who are members of the same community. Increased diversity would also help to increase the cultural competency of physicians as a whole.