Mental health court a ‘safe zone’ of help
Assistance program for those in criminal justice system not feeling pinch, official says
Tracey Anne Green walks 9 miles round-trip to make her Clark County Mental Health Court appearances.
“That’s my meditating time,” Green said Wednesday following a five-minute check-in with a judge.
Green, 53, has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression. She doesn’t travel by bus from her Hazel Dell mobile home to the Clark County Courthouse in downtown Vancouver because she’s uncomfortable in confined spaces with strangers, a result of being sexually assaulted. She had a clean record until a few years ago, when she was arrested, on separate occasions, for driving under the influence and attempting to steal clothes from a Wal-Mart.
The sudden spiral of offenses triggered a referral to mental health court.
