esn't ease guard fear
ByDarl tep
Capital News Service
LA SI G - An inmate
orking in a prison orkshop
ccidentally his hand and
bqpns to bleed.
A upervisor orders another
guard to get fir t- . d kit. The
guard refuses, saying the
prisoner is junkie" and may
carry th AIDS virus.
o y.I'm no touching any
blood," he say . "And you
shouldn't, either. Let medical
handle it --- it' their job.·
So begins "AIDS: Key F as
for Correction I St ff,· a
videotape that is own to state
p . d trainees. The tape,
produced by the Federal
Bore uoff'risons.i designedto
inform corrections officers
bout Acquired Immune
Deficiency Syndrome and ease
their fears bout contracting the
disease on the job. .
It does not ease the fear ,
howev r, of the director of the
state prison guard union.
Fred Parks, executive direc
tor 0 .th� Michigan Corrections
Organization, said the tape is
o enough.
It is obviously not adequate,"
Parks said. "It's a good film; it's
just that that's the end of it,"
Parks has called. for routine
testing of all inmates upon icar
ceration. For those inm tes who
test positive for the AIDS virus,
he recommends medical isola
tion. He also has called for more
exensive training to teach
. guards how to deal with infected
inmates.
UTHORITIES IMIZE
D GER
However, Gail Light, Cor
rections Department
pokesperson, said AIDS in the
prison system is a "non-story."
In fall 1986, the department
tested every inmate who went
through the Reception and
Guidance Center inJ ackson. All
ate prisoners go through the
recep . on center before starting
their prison terms. Five out of
the 600 to 700 prisoners tested
had the AIDS virus, Light said.
Statistically, AIDS is no more
prevalent among prisoner than
among the general population,
she said.
The recent death in J on
of a Southern Michigan Prison
inmate --- who had been
posed to AIDS before he
entered the rpison system -
brought to nine the number of
AIDS-infected inmates ho
have died since 1984, Light said.
Guards should not be con
cerned about contracting the
disease because it is difficult to
transmit by casual contact, she
said. AIDS is thought to be
transmitted by an exchange of
body fluids, especially blood.
"If they have a cut on their
hand and have to go deal with a
prisoner who had a cut onhis
hand also, they, would have the
option of putting. on gloves,"
Light aid. "They're not sup
posed to put their bare hands on
somebody else's cut."
DELIBERATE CONTACf A
WORRY
But Parks said the guards are
more concerned about the in
mates who might intentionally
tty to infect them.
"Some (inmates) think noth
ing of slicing themselves with a
razor and daring you to come
near them," Parks said. "It's not
the casual contact we're worried
about; it's the deliberate con
tact."
In February, Rep. Robert
Bender (R-Middleville) intro
duced a bill that would require
AIDS testing of all new inmaes
in state prisons. The bill is await
ing a hearing before the House
Corrections Committee.
"It, long with the other
AIDS bills, is just not moving,"
Bender id, "It's a controversial
issue. And I think, in fairness,
there . interes in a broader
o rall policy on AIDS."
Sen. J ck Welborn (R
P chment) said he hopes to see
changes in the Corrections
Departmen AIDS policy, but
he does not think it i the
Legislature's job to make the
changes.
-We do nt need to change the
law,· he said. "The department
has it within it authority to
change policy."
UNDERMINES DISCIPLINE
When prison guards do not
know whether they are dealing
with AIDS-infected prisoners,
they may be reluctant to break
up fights or put themselves in
risky situations, Welborn said.
"The problem is it under
mines discipline," he said, ad
ding that inmates carrying the
AIDS virus should be isolated
from other prisoners.
At the conclusion of the
training videotape, the super
visor convinces the worried
guard to obtain help for the in
jured prisoner.
"Ob, yeah, and bring some
disinfectant so you can clean up
this area," he tells the guard.
The final scene shows a rub
ber-gloved guard spraying disin
fectant on a pool of blood while
mopping it up with paper towel.
n
3
ental healt pros p ead
for public understanding
8yBalTy'I
Capital News Service
LANSING - In the aftermath
of Mental Health Awareness
Week, mental illness organiza
tions hope the focus on learning
about schizophrenia will con
tinue in Michigan.
Organizations such as the
ational Alliance for the Men
tally Ill (NAMI), are working
with Michigan groups to ensure
that the facts of mental illness
are known and publicized, and
that more people will seek help
for the ailment.
Gerald Rees, of the Wash
tena (County) Alliance for
Mentally Ill, said there is a lac
of public understanding that it is
a disease."
The fact of schizophrenia are
that there are over 500,000
people in Michigan living with
families with it, dover 300,000
in foster homes, as well as in
nursing homes, jails and hospi
tals.
FLICfS 1 OUT OF 100
Schizophrenia is so common
that it affects about 1 percent of
the population, which is about
one out of every 100 people.
It's also a misunderstood dis
ease because it is a brain disor
der, not mental retardation.
People of normal intelligence
can't functin as it impairs think
ing and brings on delusions, hal
lucinations, and changes in emo
tions.
Mental illness can affect
people in early adulthood or
adolescence, or evenin late
adul life as well.
There are many misconcep
tions about mental health that
the NAMI is trying to dispell as
well.
One fact, though,is that most
mentally ill people are not
violent and are often victim of
crimes.
Actually mental illness also is
not restricted to a certain social
class or race, it can affect
anyone.
ANYWHERE Bur HERE
But one the biggest problems
facing mental ill people, said
Rees, is "nimby"<not in my back
yard), which grew after Presi
dent Kennedy and mental health
professionals advised to move
the mentally ill out of hospitals
and into communities to get sup
port and recover quickly.
"Everyone liked getting them
out," said Rees, "but not in their
communities."
Since few people want them
in their communities, there is a
problem with a lack of housing
and in trying to find them and
convince them that they need
help.
With a lac of adequate hous
ing and no place for the mental
ly ill to live, many of them end up
wandering the streets or in
emergency shelters, Rees said.
"People don't want them in
their neighborhood, "Rees said.
"They can't help themselves and
are cut off from families and no
one is there to help,"
"It's criminal for our country
to have mentally ill wander on
the streets," Rees added.
o ROOM
Larry VanDeSande, infor
mation officer for the State
Department of Mental Health,
said the demand for group
homes exceeds the homes exist
ing.
The state hasn't yet picked up
the slac for the demand, Van
DeSande said. They are putting
in about 300 beds a year in the
homes.
The Department of Mental
Health, AMI, and other or
ganizations try to lend a hand
with support groups, learning
awareness, and action in. the
government to get more help.
There just isn't enough sup
port for the self-help organiza
tions, such as NAMI, said Rees.
"We don't have Jerry Lewis run
ning a telethon."
Most recently the NAMI with
2,000 members across the
country, went to Capitol Hill to
lobby and let Congress know of
the needs of the mentally ill.
"Th mentally ill haven't had
people speak for them, Rees
said. "The mentally ill can't be
ignored anymore, there are
people working with them now."
One problem being tackled is
funding. The National Alliance
research area, which tries to find
causes and a cure for
schizophrenia, has a budget of
over $10 million to spend on re
search.
MONEY NEEDED
The funding isn't nearly
enough, however, to help as with
research in other areas. Mus
cular Dystrophy gets 10,000
per per on, cancer research
uses $300 per person, while
mental illness funding only
equals $7 per person.
What funding that is received
comes from the federal govern
ment and there is a private foun
dation with the Alliance that is
trying to help.
State-funded mental health
areas are different, however,
with 20 percent of the budget
going into community services.
The budget is $225 million,
which goes through local com
munity mental health agencies,
said VanDeSande.
VanDeSande believes that
"there are a number of strides
made in mental health," which
includes an exhibit aimed at
teaching people about mental
illness and mental health.
Manford Tatzmann, a mental
health employee and president
of the board for the exhibit, said
t's built like a science museum
where kids can participate,"
The exhibit, which is the
Continu d on P 18