Agency Volunteers Helping Inmates at Santa Barbara County Jail’s Behavioral Health Units
Patricia Martellotti
SANTA BARBARA, Cali. – Carey Bradshaw is on her way to the Santa Barbara County Jail.
“We’ve been volunteering at the Santa Barbara County Jail for one year … and we go in to their behavioral Health units … four separate units … and bring our therapy dogs in to visit with the inmates,” said Bradshaw.
Bradshaw’s partner, Dandilion is from therapy dogs of Santa Barbara.
She believes this furry friend is changing lives during each visit.
“There was an inmate who had not come out of his cell or talk to anybody in two months he came out he was crying or petting our dog … and talking to our volunteers, and our staff was just amazed at the transformation they witnessed,” said Bradshaw.
Volunteers from a about a dozen agencies are meeting regularly with men and women in the newly developed Behavioral Health Units.
“The value of this is that men and women can be together … and have time in the day room and they can have individual individuals come in and provide structured programming,” said programs manager Alice Perez of the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office.
That’s where the volunteers come in.
They’re working to help inmates inside both jail facilities in Santa Barbara and Santa Maria to regain their mental wellness during their incarceration.
“What I personally do is I have lived experience in homelessness, mental health and addiction and recovery from all of that … so I share my own story while also educating them about post traumatic stress disorder and how to get help … either from homelessness addiction or mental health issues … when they get out,” said lead advocate Cathie Ortiz of Transitions Mental Health Association.
Managers at the Santa Barbara County Jail hope to continue this behavioral wellness program to help those experiencing mental illness.
“Dandelion was such a big hit … every time we go back the inmates can see us walking down a long haul before we actually get to their unit … and they are pressed up against the glass saying …Dandelion Dandelion,” said Bradshaw.
The volunteers along with Dandilion’s help hope their efforts will enhance the inmates’ chances of a successful reentry into the community.
Directors of the Santa Barbara County Jail project the number of volunteers participating in the Behavioral Health Units will continue to increase in the next several years.
For more information, visit: https://www.sbsheriff.org/command-and-divisions/custody-operations/south-county-custody-operations-division/jail-facilities/.
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