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POPLAR, Mont. — When Maria Vega was a senior in high school in 2015, she found the body of one of her closest friends, who had died by suicide. A few days later, devastated by the loss, Vega tried to take her own life.
Tribal officials and various mental health advocates have been trying to find an alternative for nearly a decade. But the Fort Peck reservation is still badly lacking in both secure psychiatric facilities and qualified mental health workers.
Jailing people because of a mental health issue is illegal in Montana, but the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes has its own laws. One tribal policy allows law enforcement to put citizens who threaten or attempt suicide in jail or juvenile detention to prevent another attempt
Jailing people because of a mental health issue is illegal in Montana and every other state except New Hampshire.
Jailing people because of a mental health issue is illegal in Montana and every other state except New Hampshire.