California SHU lacks health care

I just wanted to let you know of an issue that's affected me firsthand. My four years in the SHU I've seen a deficiency in the metal health programs for us back here in the SHUs.

I know that its frowned upon by fellow inmates if you are CCCMs, but hey, there is some need for this program for some individuals. That's reality. The CDC likes to hand out "Hot-Meds" like it's Halloween but refuses to couple medications with psycho-therapy which plays a tremendous role in rehabilitation or curing a mental illness. SHUs have a severe lack of resources in this matter, and it has a tremendous impact on those directly involved.

A newspaper articles was just published on the rash of suicides that have occurred here in a matter of weeks in between. Something along the lines of six suicides within two months. And to add another, my homeboy just hung himself on 10/2/03. These foolios didn't, couldn't or wouldn't help him. SSU did their "little" investigation and told everyone that it was our fault. That we should have said something. Like the psych couldn't realize what was going on inside the guy's head with all their training and schooling. He was pulled out of his cell four days in a row to talk to the psych, to try and get some help. On the fifth day he was pulled out of his cell with a rope around his neck...dead.

Somebody from Sacramento came about a week after that happened and was interviewing people in our section to, I guess, try and get an understanding of the circumstances that led up to my homeboy's suicide. He had pulled out about four people before four sergeants hustled him into the office bombarding him with questions like "who are you", "what are you doing here," and "who sent you." So it appears that Sacramento slipped through without their usual alerting of someone coming down. And them being able to prepare for them.

The SHU is no joke. Or even the Ad-segs. If you're unlucky enough to end up in a SHU or ad-seg where the cops are "brothers" and "do things their way" it's like you're up a creek without a paddle. I mean look, they have total control over you. They control what you receive, your mail, food, just about everything. The only way you can get something out with no roadblocks is to send it out with a homeboy who is paroling or take it "to the hoop" when there's a transfer to another yard, building or facility.

I've received three copies of MIM Notes. I think they were my first issues to test the censors. Well, they made it through. So keep 'em coming, they're being circulated in here. I'm getting good reviews so far from the guys.