Have you heard of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Center of Excellence (CJCCoE)?
It’s right here at NEOMED, housed in the Department of Psychiatry, but its reach is both regional and statewide. Its program administrator, Ruth Simera, spends much of her time advising and connecting government agencies, non-profits and social services agencies.
The CJCCoE’s reason for being is to reverse the trend of criminalizing the mentally ill. Simera works toward finding solutions so people with mental disorders will not be unnecessarily arrested or incarcerated.
While the CJCCoE focuses on jail diversion for the mentally ill, it has found additional applications for its techniques. Read a Dayton Daily News story to learn how Simera will help community leaders in Montgomery County work toward solutions to the epidemic of drug overdoses.