Community Participation Among Individuals with Serious Mental Illnesses Leaving Jail

Abstract

Studies have found that higher levels of community participation are associated with a number of positive outcomes such as increased recovery and quality of life. People with serious mental illnesses (SMI) leaving jail face a number of barriers that limit their ability to participate in community activities. In this paper we examine whether the combined experience of mental illness and recent discharge from jail furthers the community isolation that is already experienced by individuals with serious mental illnesses. This analysis found that people with SMI recently released from jail had significantly lower levels of community participation in terms of overall number of community participation days and activities, number of time spent in activities individuals identified as important, and on measures of sufficiency related to the time spent engaged in these activities. Community participation is a key component of community re-integration for people with SMI leaving jail. The results of this study show that services for people with SMI leaving jail need to include interventions that foster engagement in community based activities.