The Zen of Multnomah County Mental Health Court (3-5 minute read)
Published by Jeff Woodward,
The Zen of Mental Health Courtroom 421
Every Thursday on the fourth floor of the Multnomah County Courthouse, Mental Health Court is brought to order. After a month of sitting in and observing, I was surprised at what I witnessed, there was a radiance of peace, a kindness, a Zen. Before the Judge were those dozens who were suffering from a mental health diagnosis, court/case monitors, and often, the family members of those in attendance, all of which had come before the court.
A cooperative effort, the mission behind Mental Health Court’s specialized treatment is simple, to reduce criminal activity committed by persons suffering from a qualifying mental health diagnosis. Mental Health Court participants are on probation; both supervised (formal probation) and unsupervised (bench probation). As a condition of the probation, defendants are offered an opportunity to participate in the Mental Health Court program. It takes a minimum of one year to complete Mental Health Court, and successful participants are often able to shorten the length of their probationary period.
As each participant came forward with heartfelt anxiousness, they sat down next to the attorney there on their behalf, seated within a few feet of the Judge. As I watched the Judge, I saw amazing capacities for empathy, patience, and quite beautiful in its simplicity, an intrinsic kindness unlike I had seen ever before inside a courtroom.
Participants spoke of homelessness, drug addiction, domestic abuse, and undiagnosed, untreated mental illness. Each demonstrated clearly the tolls of what they had personally experienced and realized traveling through a hellish journey.
Participants seemed to care most (without a word spoken) of a simple acknowledgment of what we all long to feel from those in our lives. An almost prehistoric, instinctual need to know that their life mattered, their life had meaning too. Most mutual, and done so as if it were second nature and without exceptions, of those who appeared that day, all walked away, to carry within themselves until their next appearance, the Judge made it clear that their life did in fact matter.
Mental Health Court participant’s are assigned to a Mental Health Court Monitor. The monitor works with the participant on issues such as housing, medication management, health care appointments, and needed transportation. Participants are expected to stay free of drugs and alcohol, to meet regularly with their assigned monitor, to take all prescribed medication, pay restitution to victims, keep all appointments with service providers, and obey all laws.
As participants navigated their tenure of MHC successfully, all stopped to acknowledge their achievement, standing side by side with the Judge, holding their certificate of acknowledgment, as proud family members, and mental health monitors looked on fondly from the gallery, as photos were taken.
This was most worthy of all attentions, despite any other court considerations, all stopped to honor graduates of Mental Health Court.
Remember, we all need each other.
Jeff Woodward