Pandemic exacted a steep toll on people with disabilities

Legally blind and alone, Katrina Byrd of Jackson, Mississippi, was reeling from her partner’s death from ALS when the pandemic sent her into isolation, cutting her off from the services and help she needed.

Shattering ordinary people’s mental health

Dillion Swindle of Oxford had just gotten his dream promotion and relocated to Louisiana when COVID-19 smacked the nation in 2020.

Medical marijuana offered promise of relief. But not for him.

William Pittman eagerly lent his signature to legalize medical marijuana, something his psychiatrist thought could help treat his borderline personality disorder, binge eating disorder and ADHD.

‘I can’t let him out on society,’ sheriff says

Jasper County Sheriff Randy Johnson feels like he is on the front lines of the issues that face Mississippi corrections personnel in handling the mentally ill in the state.

News, Mississippi News, Prison, Prison Reform, mental healthJerry MitchellFebruary 16, 2022Jail, mentally ill, incompetent to stand trial, mentally ill in jail, Raffell Franklin, Mississippi State Hospital, mental health, Whitfield, The department of mental health, murder, Eddie Davis, Peco

A jailed mentally ill man accused law enforcement of abuse. Then he disappeared.

Threatened. Beaten. Denied food, water and his clothes. Constrained in a straitjacket.

Months after Travis Sean Hunt posted a note in Facebook Messenger accusing law enforcement in Choctaw County and Ackerman of these abuses while in their custody, he walked out the back door of his grandmother’s home and hasn’t been seen since.

News, Mississippi News, mental healthJerry MitchellDecember 28, 2021Sean Hunt, Travis Sean Hunt, Choctaw County Jail, Law enforcement, Human Rights watch, mental health, mental disabilities, disability, disabled inmates, prisoner abuse, assault

Live life or take it? Pandemic brings increased distress and thoughts of suicide

Sometimes acclaimed poet C. T. Salazar of Columbus marvels, “Oh, good Lord, what a great life I have.”

Mississippi News, mental healthKatherine MitchellSeptember 29, 2020Mississippi Center for Investigative Reportingmississippi news, mental health, depression, anxiety, Mississippi's mental health, C. T. Salazar, poet, Columbus, coronavirus, pandemic, Mississippi Department of Mental Health, National suicide prevention line

Telemental health provides access and convenience. But can the advantages overcome WiFi woes and the technologically challenged?

Jen Cornett of Brandon goes for grief counseling to recover from the sudden death of her boyfriend in November.

Mississippi News, mental healthKatherine MitchellSeptember 10, 2020Mississippi Center for Investigative Reportingmississippi news, mental health, depression, anxiety, Mississippi medicaid, Mississippi's mental health, mental health treatment, insurance coverage, telemental health, telehealth, grief counseling, bipolar disorder, covid-19, counseling

Rising drug costs imperil mental health treatment

Magdalin Fulce used to take three different prescription medications for anxiety and depression.

She doesn’t take any now, not because she doesn’t need it, but because she can’t afford it.

Mississippi News, mental healthKatherine MitchellAugust 11, 2020Mississippi Center for Investigative Reportingmississippi news, mental health, depression, anxiety, Mississippi medicaid, Mississippi's mental health, mental health treatment, mental health care drugs, insurance coverage

Lost coverage of mental health drug sent me into tailspin and hospitalization

I sat down on my unmade bed and ticked off the questions.

Did I want to end it all? Yes.

Mississippi News, mental healthKatherine MitchellAugust 11, 2020Mississippi Center for Investigative Reportingmississippi news, mental health, depression, suicide, mental health medication, medication coverage, medication change, mental illness, insurance

Telemental health visits soar in Mississippi during the pandemic. Is it a stopgap measure or a roadmap for the future?

University of Mississippi student Johnny Douglas of Oxford was worried that his therapy for depression and anxiety might stop in its tracks when the COVID-19 pandemic started.

Mississippi News, Coronavirus Pandemic, coronavirus, mental healthKatherine MitchellJuly 6, 2020Mississippi Center for Investigative Reportingmississippi news, Covid-19, coronavirus, pandemic, coronavirus pandemic, mental health, telehealth, depression, anxiety, Mississippi medicaid, therapy

COVID-19 confirmed at four Mississippi mental health facilities Dozens of patients, staff members infected.

The Mississippi Department of Mental Health confirmed Friday that 56 patients and an unknown number of staff at four of its 12 facilities have confirmed COVD-19 infections—a much higher number than reported previously, according to figures from the agency.

Mississippi News, Coronavirus Pandemic, coronavirus, mental healthKatherine MitchellMay 1, 2020Mississippi Center for Investigative Reportingmississippi news, Covid-19, coronavirus, pandemic, coronavirus pandemic, mental health, Mississippi Department of Mental Health, DMH, East Mississippi State Hospital, Boswell Regional Center, North Mississippi Regional Center, Ellisville State School

‘It’s easy to overlook the impact of COVID-19 on people with serious mental-health issues’

Cortney Hood of Tupelo knows the coronavirus pandemic is rattling her. She can see it in her daily routine.

Mississippi News, Coronavirus Pandemic, coronavirus, mental healthKatherine MitchellMarch 30, 2020Mississippi Center for Investigative Reportingmississippi news, Covid-19, coronavirus, pandemic, coronavirus pandemic, mental health, anxiety, coronavirus anxiety, depression, social distancing