March 11, 2024
The Berkshire Eagle
Jameson Baity (right) and Anthony Baldassari (left) spoke at a listening session at Second Street Second Chances on Thursday about the challenges they faced after their incarceration.
PITTSFIELD — By the time Jameson Baity was released from jail, he knew what he had to do to manage his mental health struggles. Professionals helped him to identify his issues, and he was on medication to help manage severe anxiety.
Berkshire District Attorney Timothy Shugrue speaks with formerly incarcerated men at 2nd Street Second Chances as part of a listening session.
A listening session at 2nd Street Second Chances on Thursday gave formerly incarcerated men a chance to dialogue with officials from the Berkshire District Attorney’s Office and Berkshire County Sheriff’s Office.
But when he was released, he was confronted with a whole new set of issues. Baity said he struggled to find support outside jail.
There was a long wait time to see a mental health counselor through the Brien Center, a primary behavioral health and addiction service provider in Berkshire County, he said. His access to medication lapsed.
“I ended up going without medication for almost two months,” he said at 2nd Street Second Chances, a nonprofit that supports people in the court system.
“I literally was sick as a dog,” Baity added.
Getting help seems to be easier, he said, with providers readily available, for those in the throes of active addiction. But not so when the issue is anxiety.
Mike Weller (center) speaks at a listening session at Second Street Second Chances where the Berkshire District Attorney’s Office and Berkshire County Sheriff’s Office heard how they can better support reentry from formerly incarcerated men.
There shouldn’t be a service gap for people like Baity, said District Attorney Timothy Shugrue, who went to the 2nd Street agency’s men’s aftercare group with Sheriff Thomas Bowler to hear feedback from the formerly incarcerated men. Six of the group’s members attended Thursday afternoon.
Baity said he recently started working with a private therapist, which costs $75 a week out of pocket. It’s not a small expense, but it’s also not one he can afford to spare as he tried to stay present for his son and his family.
“Without that, I know that I’ll end up right back where I was,” Baity said.
Paul Hickling, the senior vice president of service operations for the Brien Center, said COVID-19 created staffing challenges, but the situation has improved since the agency opened its Community Behavioral Health Center at 334 Fenn St. in Pittsfield last year, which he says cut wait times down to as little as a week.
Turnover of licensed counselors is also an issue, said another aftercare group participant, Mike Weller, which makes it hard to build trust with a therapist.
“It’s not easy to like open up to someone that you don’t even know, that you’re just meeting,” he said.
Service agencies are dealing with the same staffing issues as are other large employers in Berkshire County, Bowler said.
Lindsay Maynard, the forthcoming executive director of 2nd Street Second Chances, speaks at a listening session for formerly incarcerated men on Thursday.
“We have positions that we can’t fill,” said Bowler of his office. “And all of these agencies are feeling the same.”
The conversation hit on another area that Weller said is lacking — job training and reeducation. Weller said his son went to Taconic High School, and wondered with Shugrue whether there was capacity for night skills courses for adults held at the high school.
The housing crisis in Berkshire County is adding to the struggle, too. Anthony Baldassari said he moved from Boston to Pittsfield to find more affordable housing after his prison sentence. But the rents here are escalating; he said his own rent’s gone up three times in 19 months.
Finding new lodging is difficult, he said, especially with his record.
“I have a stellar payment record, but I can’t get housing,” Baldassari said.
Shugrue said the DA’s office is working to bring the county’s patchwork of providers together to solve problems vexing those who have gone through the court system. He and Bowler said money is a top issue.
Both the sheriff and prosecutor said they rely on grants to fund any program that goes beyond the basics functions of their offices. It’s hard to build reliable, long-term programming using grants, which can be siphoned away year to year.
To meet a mandate for decarceration and lower recidivism, it takes money, said Bowler. He called on lawmakers to provide funding to keep people from entering the court system.
“If you want less incarceration, then you have to provide the funding in order for us to do the things in the community for these individuals now,” he said. “We can keep people from going incarcerated, as long as we have the funding to do it.”