SIDNEY — Retired Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton was welcomed to the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office to give a presentation on the Stepping Up Initiative to elected officials, treatment providers, jail administration and other stakeholders within the community. She visited the county Tuesday, Aug. 23.
“The Shelby County Jail has joined this growing national effort to reduce the number of persons with mental illness who cycle through the county jails,” said Sheriff John Lenhart in a press release. “The goal of this initiative is to give people more access to treatment and to prevent people with mental illness from incarceration. The Shelby County Jail along with local mental health providers and the judicial system have combined efforts to come up with goals to collaboratively work together to reduce the number of people with mental illness from entering into the criminal justice system.”
Since its launch, Stepping Up has garnered widespread support and to date more than 270 counties in 41 states have passed resolutions to advance goals of Stepping Up.
