Thursdays with NAMI – March 3, 2022 – 7 pm

We know folks with mental health conditions are more likely than average to end up in jail or prison. What happens when they act out because of their illness? They may well end up in solitary confinement – making symptoms much, much worse. BIPOC (Black, indigenous, and persons of color) individuals also are more likely to be subjected to solitary confinement.

Scientific studies have established that some lasting mental damage is caused after just a few days of social isolation. Thus, someone without mental health challenges going in are likely to develop them. Luke Woollard, an attorney with Disability Rights, has seen the damage firsthand.

“You hear anger and frustration,” he said of prisoners confined in isolation. “You hear resignation and hopelessness. You hear people ask for help, not just for themselves but often for people in the cells around them. Sometimes you hear nothing.”

So why is North Carolina holding thousands of inmates in isolation, and what’s being done about it? Join us for a conversation with two individuals with lived experience and two attorneys: Emancipate NC Family Advocate Cierra Cobb; Religious Coalition for a Nonviolent Durham Reentry Coordinator Drew Doll; Disability Rights NC Supervising Attorney Susan Pollitt; and Disability Rights NC Attorney Luke Woollard.

Thursdays with NAMI starts at 7pm and is free and open to all. Join us via Facebook Live or click here to register to participate via Zoom and to view the schedule for future sessions