By late 2026, the Douglas County Department of Corrections in downtown Omaha will have a dedicated mental health wing.
County and construction officials broke ground Tuesday on the $34 million, 80-bed facility that will be built in place of a parking lot on the north side of the existing jail located at 710 S. 17th St.
The facility, Douglas County Corrections Director Mike Myers said, will serve as a dedicated space for mental health professionals and corrections officers to treat patients with the most severe psychological conditions at a critical stage.
“For the first time ever, the Douglas County community will have a space specifically designed for the treatment and care of those who are incarcerated and have mental illness,†he said.
While the jail routinely has more than 500 people with mental illness in custody — which has made up more than 50% of the jail’s population in two consecutive months — Myers said the dedicated mental health addition will allow certified and trained staff to treat inmates who have especially alarming psychological conditions, including severe depression and suicidal behavior.
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“This is focusing on those that are at the most critical point in their illness and need stabilization,†Myers said.
Along with trained personnel, Myers said the dedicated facility will include structured systems pertaining to pharmaceutical therapies, individual and group counseling sessions and skill development. Facility features will include allowing sunlight to flow in, outdoor recreation spaces and other amenities to present a calming and productive therapeutic environment.
“(We’re) basically taking a real holistic approach to the person’s wellbeing and hopefully not only just stabilizing them while they’re in custody but setting them up to have that continuation of care so they’re successful when they’re released,†he said.
Planning for the mental health facility stretches back to the early 2000s, when the Nebraska state government was reforming its behavioral health system, Douglas County Board member Mary Ann Borgeson said. In the years following the reform, she said, the county jail started seeing more inmates with mental health issues.
“This (facility) will step it up to the umpteenth degree in helping those with mental illness get into recovery,†she said.
Borgeson said county officials saw an opportunity to build a dedicated mental health facility when money from the federal American Rescue Plan Act came to Douglas County. Those federal dollars are covering the entirety of the facility’s construction cost.
County Board Chair Roger Garcia and Borgeson said a greater awareness and acceptance among society of mental health issues contributed to the realization of the mental health facility. Garcia said the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic helped elevate the discussion of mental health into the public consciousness.
“We know that mental health has been around since the beginning of time. But now that we’ve gone through such a thing as a pandemic, we know that mental health issues really increased during that and post-pandemic. We are having to face reality and really try to address these issues,†Garcia said.
Garcia and Borgeson echoed Myers’ hope the future mental health facility will help people with mental illnesses break a pattern that sees them bounce between jail, homeless shelters and emergency rooms.
“We hope to treat them better while they’re in jail in regard to mental health services… and make sure they have a warm handoff to community mental health providers so they can get that long-term care as well,†Garcia said.