The state health department is investing more than $5 million in a program that helps people who have been imprisoned better reenter their communities.
Officials with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said the FIT Wellness program provides psychiatric and physical health care services and connections to community supports like housing, transportation and phones for people in the state prison system who have serious mental illness.
According to NCDHHS, serious mental illness affects 15% of men and 31% of women in jails, and 85% of the prison population has a substance use disorder or was incarcerated for a crime related to substance use.
With proven programs like NC FIT, state health Secretary Kody Kinsley said they make an immediate difference because they’re investing in care that works.
