The Hamilton Spectator
Nicole O'rielly
July 3,2014

A group of local health and criminal justice experts are working to identify and help inmates at the Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre who may have an acquired brain injury.

This type of cognitive impairment can exacerbate mental health issues and make those injured more likely to end up in jail.

Some inmates have depression or anxiety issues that are triggered by a brain injury, while others sustain the injury through mental illness complications such as a suicide attempt, said Veronica Pepper,
an acquired brain injury systems navigator at the Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant ABI Network.

The group was born out of the local Human Services and Justice Coordinating Committee,
and has been meeting since October. For the past three months, they have been working on a pilot project with inmates in the "special needs" range at the detention centre.

So far, of the 16 people assessed with a screening tool — a page-long questionnaire —
14 were flagged as possibly having brain injuries. Pepper, who is also co-chair of the local ABI-Corrections Working Group, said while she expected a high percentage,
she was surprised by the preliminary results.

Most had some idea they had a brain injury, but did not recognize the potential impact on their decision-making.

According to the group's mandate, people with acquired brain injury can have problems with memory, attention span, organization and decision-making.
They may also have poor impulse control and poor anger management, which can lead to difficulty holding a job and problems with the law.

The group was spearheaded by Terry McGurk, manager of St. Joseph Healthcare's Crisis Outreach and Support Team (COAST).
He co-chairs the working group, which includes representatives from Hamilton police, CityHousing, the jail, hospitals, parole and probation, t
he Canadian Mental Health Association and Brain Injury Services.

The real goal, he said, is getting inmates access to support services on discharge.

"We want to stop the revolving door, in and out of the criminal justice system," McGurk said.

However, the long waits for programs are a barrier.

For instance, one of the inmates assessed is a 44-year-old man who was hit by a car 10 years ago. He knew he had a brain injury but was on a wait list for services, Pepper said.

Until the crash, his crimes were relatively minor, she said. But after, he became violent and was constantly leaving or being kicked out of residential care facilities.
He admitted to getting himself arrested during the winter, intentionally, so he had somewhere to eat and sleep.

The group plans to continue to follow the individuals screened to see if access to support services helps to decrease their future interaction with the criminal justice system, McGurk said.

"We are just beginning."

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