Ohio Jail to Tackle Mental Illness as Opioid Crisis Abates

As the opioid crisis abates, Montgomery County sheriff is now pushing for options other than jail for mentally ill people

Montgomery County Sheriff’s deputies and emergency personnel respond to a suspected drug overdose in a gas station carpark in the Harrison Township of Dayton, Ohio, on Nov. 1, 2019. Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times

DAYTON, Ohio—Jails around the country are facing a barrage of issues.

Almost all inmates are in for drug or alcohol-related crimes; more than one-third have a diagnosed mental illness; the number of state mental health beds has plummeted; inmate numbers have skyrocketed; and many jails have faced budget cuts.