Researchers at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences received a $600,000 grant to study a central Arkansas crisis stabilization unit that treats the mentally ill, officials announced on Wednesday.
Arnold Ventures, a philanthropic organization whose focus includes criminal justice and health, awarded the three-year grant for a project to evaluate the Pulaski County Regional Crisis Stabilization Unit’s availability and engagement in terms of individual and regional outcomes, according to a UAMS news release.
The Pulaski County unit is one of four pilot programs authorized in 2017 by an act that gave funding to establish the units and redirect people from jail who would be better served through community treatments, the release states.
“Persons with behavioral health issues often encounter police for non-criminal reasons. Placing them in jail creates a financial burden on the community and does not provide the individual with much-needed mental health services,” Dr. Lisa Evans, clinical director of the Pulaski County Regional Crisis Stabilization Unit, said in the release.
Nick Zaller and Melissa Zielinski are the project’s co-principal investigators. Zaller is a professor in the UAMS Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health, and Zielinski is an assistant professor in the school’s College of Medicine.