“With the deterioration of the social safety net (over the last twenty years government spending for almost every anti-poverty program except Medicaid has decreased) the prison system has become our social policy: our employment initiative, our drug treatment program, our mental health policy, our anti-poverty effort, and our program for children in trouble.”

-David Hilfiker, “Urban Injustice: How Ghettos Happen”

Most people would be shocked to know that correctional facilities are the biggest mental health provider in the US. Our social safety net is by design punitive. We ignorantly lump the poor into two categories: “deserving” & “undeserving,” punish the latter, brush off our shoulders and say “Well, we did our part— now do yours.” Ughhh