Doctor: Health, education linked to incarceration rate

PATTERSON — The St. Mary Reentry Community Resource Coalition hosted a stakeholders partnership luncheon Wednesday for members of local law enforcement agencies, parish elected officials, and community members from outlying parishes in an attempt to recruit resources to help re-entering inmates.
St. Mary Parish Councilman Craig Mathews said the coalition is expected to grow and cover the entire 16th Judicial District. Currently, ex-offenders are being mentored and utilizing the resource coalition in New Iberia Parish.
Dr. Raman Singh, medical and mental health director of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections, gave the keynote address at the luncheon about the current status of Louisiana’s penal system.
Singh said that 650,000 inmates in Louisiana are released every year, and 66 percent are re-arrested, most within six months. Half of incarcerated men and two-thirds of women are diagnosed with chronic health conditions.
Singh, who has worked with the Department of Corrections since 2002, said a lack of health care and education, broken families, weakened religious bonds, lack of employment opportunities, drug abuse, and chronic poor health contribute to Louisiana being the state with the highest incarceration rate.
“One size does not fix all when you are trying to help your society,” Singh said. “You have to customize. Every year, 18,000 kids drop out of high school and every year we incarcerate 18,000 people.”
Singh said the DOC is currently working with other re-entry resources across the state to create a book with statewide resources to be available to all local authorities and inmates who are close to being released.
“We are working to close the revolving door of incarceration and build the connections of resources in St. Mary Parish,” said Mathews. “We are going to feed this (coalition) resources, time, energy and commitment.”
Mathews said offenders and ex-offenders in St. Mary Parish currently struggle with housing, lack of public transportation, education, computer skills and health care.
Patterson Mayor Rodney Grogan said that with the help of the coalition, Patterson can address the blighted property issue and can flip those blighted properties into temporary housing for local inmates re-entering the community.
Singh said the Medicaid expansion has played a critical role in re-entry by providing access to health care and mental health services for former inmates.
“If they don’t have a job, they don’t have nothing to lose. If someone has nothing to lose, then they have nothing to fear,” Singh said.
Mathews said that the coalition has already recruited volunteers and started training case workers and mentors. The coalition will meet on a quarterly basis for status updates.